My experience as part of the VR@RL has been somewhat diffuse. There has been a bit of a cool vibe, but mostly I have felt a bit detached from the proceedings. This could be partly because of the false start that occurred when the meatspace winter conference was cancelled, and probably has something to do with the fact that many of us are making the transition from vacation to "oh-my-goodness-I-need-to-finish-prepping-my-scholarship/classes."
Still, I feel a little detached from these proceedings. It is a little TOO easy to catch glimpses here and there and go right back to my own course/scholarship prepping. Meatspace synchronous conferences isolate you and then force you to dress up and try to act cool on the off chance that you might make a lasting impression on SOMEBODY. I think these social events are mostly good for us. English folks are notoriously introverted, and it is good to air us out in public spaces near restaurants and bars that require some sort of dressing up.
Of course, Alex and Alex helped us out by filming themselves in their presentations (and even putting pretty cool soundtracks together). Maybe next year's call should include the requirement of some sort of avatar and cool music. Just sayin...
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