On a bit more controversial note, David Coallier has posted about a rather unpleasant experience he had at this year's PHP Quebec conference - in his own words:

As many of you know, this time of the year is usually the PHP Quebecconference and many php internals and international speakers fly toMontreal to speak. [...] This morning (2008/13/03) I saw Lukas on IRC and we said "Hey let's meet around 1pm to discuss about the PHP TestFest"

He met Lukas at the hotel, in the lounge of the hotel, not attending any of the talks. As he sits there talking to the others, a PHP Quebec staff member walks out and hands him a bill (for around 450 CAD) for attending the conference. After a little checking - both with fellow user group members and with the hotel staff as to the validity of this behavior, he could only assume that it was some "money driven" attempt on the PHP Quebec conference's side to get what they could.
Be sure to check out the comments for some other views from the community.


David Coallier's Blog: PHP Quebec Hindering the PHP Project development? - Read More...