Wool & Words

Last weekend there was a conference that I had considered attending. Since I hadn't submitted a paper, I emailed the planners and offered my services as a panel moderator. I never heard from them, and then life got in the way, etc.

Frankly, I assumed my services weren't needed since I didn't receive any word from the conference organizers.

You would think that the fact that I never registered for the conference would have clued them in to the fact that I wasn't coming and that I might have gotten an email reminding me to do the same. NOpe. Nothing.

My name is in the program. People saw my name (and I'm known among this group as the person who was responsible for the panels at last year's conference), and I wasn't there. I know that the stakes are small--this conference really isn't in my area of expertise--but my name is now conflated with "deadbeat moderator who didn't bother to show up". How embarrassing.

What really galls me is that I did this same job last year, and contacted my moderators before putting their name in the official program. Some people planned to arrive later than the panel I had scheduled them for; I had to make changes. That's what you do when you're responsible for planning the panels at a conference! Of course, there are always last minute changes at these things, but this wasn't a last minute anything! I'm very disappointed in the lack of professionalism here.

I'm really, really pissed about this. I'll get over it in a few minutes, but I vow to never again assume anything when it comes to conference organizers. Ugh!

/vent

Back to my day. Cheers!