finally{}: Conferences and Community

So as someone who runs conferences for the community (And does so full-time, so does need to make a buck or two), I wanted to address a recent discussion that came up on twitter. A gentleman who was running a design conference in Dallas (for only $200 ticket price), was ranting about speakers, and how dare they ask for hotel and travel coverage for just going a 50-minute talk. I’d like to use this as a discussion launching point about events in general, and the costs involved in putting them on.