I'm wondering how many people will wear the suggested identity t-shirts. As cool as wearing your internet identity on your chest is, I'd kinda rather go in regular clothes + a nametag.
I must be alone in loving to work with people online but not so much in person. I don't think I could handle an event like that. I do love Stack Overflow, I'm happy it gained so many users.
A conference I can afford! Aside from the celebrity wow, the $99 price tag caught my eye first.
(Not to say that more expensive conferences aren't worth every dollar, but when you're kind-of consulting/running a struggling software/on a ramen diet you have to count your pennies.)
I would like to know who the speakers are first. I know, it's more important to meet fellow Stack Overflow folks, but I meet geeks all the time in the Bay Area. "Six great speakers in each city" could be anybody.
You can always get a full refund at any point in time. The London event is already half sold out and Joel announced it today (no post on blog.stackoverflow.com or carsonified.com yet either).
Ditto. I'd much rather go to a Hacker News event generally. Despite covering a wide range of topics, there's something a bit proprietary/Microsoft-y about Stack Overflow that I can't put my finger on. Besides, I much prefer the wider range of non-programming stuff HN covers :) Thumbs up for HN events!
Alternatively, you can grab the Bolt Bus, or others like it (https://www.boltbus.com/default.aspx). Cheaper and slower than Amtrak but apparently has decently usable wifi.
