There are many reasons that a researcher may be unable to attend conferences in person, and it’s important to point out that this isn’t about them choosing not to go. Sometimes, no matter how much they want to be there, they simply can’t. Two significant reasons are funding and visa.

Funding issues are easier to understand: if you don’t have enough travel funding, then you simply cannot attend in person, which raises the bar for participation. Visa issues are more subtle. People of certain nationality need to apply for a visa before traveling to certain places. These applications are often tedious, expensive, and mentally exhausting. They often take months to process (or even years in some extreme cases!) and sometimes only grant short stays or even single-entry permissions. It is quite common for conference attendees that their applications are not approved on time. Moreover, some people (such as some US permanent residence seekers) cannot travel outside their country of residence. Clearly, there are significant structural violence that unfairly blocks many people from participating in physical-only conferences.

We understand that in-person gatherings provide much better experiences than virtual ones. But for many people struggling with these barriers, it’s not a choice between in-person and virtual—it’s a choice between in-person and nothing at all. Hence, although virtual gatherings are not perfect, it’s a way to make things a little bit fairer and give everyone a chance to be part of the experience.

You are absolutely right. Such online parallels could only reduce the inequity, not eliminate it. However, we believe that the more important point is to do something, and to do it now. We hope at some point the structural violence will disappear and there will be no need to hold such online parallels, but this doesn't seem likely anytime soon.

That said, we're always open to constructive criticism! If you have ideas on how we could improve, please share them with us here or discuss on Slack.

There is no particular reason. Given the sheer inequity in the current system, there is always some demand for solutions such as online parallels. We just think it’s better to start somewhere rather than wait. We hope that these online parallels will become a regular feature for future conferences and that official organizers will consider them as a way to reduce inequity and provide a more inclusive environment.

The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago, the second best time is now. --Proverb

One reason is for those participants dealing with visa issues. It would be incredibly unfair and emotionally draining for them to sit in uncertainty waiting for visa updates, feeling left out while others get to fully participate in person. We also hope that holding the online parallel at the same time as the in-person conference could make the virtual participants feel being part of the same event. 

We are considering this option. However, it’s important to ensure that any interaction between online participants and in-person participants doesn't detract from either experience. Right now, we’re still unsure how to implement this in a seamless way. Additionally, with limited time, it might be unrealistic for the physical organizers to set up the necessary equipment for this kind of interaction.

For this time, our top priority is to ensure a meaningful experience for online participants. While connecting the virtual and physical sides would be a great addition, it’s not our top priority this time. That said, we hope to see more (and official) interaction between in-person and online participants in future conferences.

While Graduating Bits has been a celebrated tradition of the in-person ITCS conferences, the current survey results suggest it may not be as popular as expected. Among the first 20 responses, only 6 expressed interest in Graduating Bits, and only 2 of them are PhD students or postdocs.

That said, we are open to reconsidering this if there is more interest (especially among PhD students and postdocs). If you would like to see the Graduating Bits happen, please let us know (e.g., by taking the survey or discussing over the Slack channel)! We’re always happy to adjust plans to better suit the community’s preferences.

Thank you very much! It would be wonderful if you could share this with anyone who might find it helpful. :)

Currently, we also need:

• Some online meeting rooms (e.g., Zoom).

• Paper Presenters (see Paper Discussion).

• Open problems.

• Session chairs for Open Problem Sessions.

• Volunteers to document the Open Problem Sessions.

• Participants of junior-senior lunches.

This is a new initiative and we’re still figuring things out. Right now, it’s more of an early experiment than a polished solution. There are also challenges we’d like to address but couldn’t fully tackle this time (such as interactions between online and in-person attendees). Hopefully, we can make things better in the next edition!

(BTW, there was actually an "alpha version" with a small number of participants that happened during STOC'24.)

Please ask your question on the Slack channel!