Academics: Very Smart, Very Dumb

I have one major complaint about UbiComp 2010 as far as comfort goes. The seatting arrangement during the presentations is a typical lecture hall, but one with absolutely no space to move if someone is sitting in a chair. For some reason, every single person will opt to sit on the very end of the row. This means that every person who is not in the lecture hall before the presentation begins has to squeeze past those folks who sat down first. This is particularly difficult as some folks refuse to stand up to let people pass.

This is particularly humiliating in my case. I'm not a small woman by most standards, and it. is. not. comfortable. for me to move myself and my laptop pass you. You're forcing me to choose to show you either my rear or my front in a small area. It is awkward for me. I can't imagine you're enjoying it that much, given your reluctance to even stand up. When I say "Excuse me," it isn't a request for you to turn your knees to the side, which adds maybe three inches to the first three that were there. I'm simply not six inches wide.

So please, colleagues. If you're organizing a conference, do choose a venue that it is accessible for various body types. If you're at a conference that doesn't have wide aisles, either sit near the center of the row, or be prepared to stand up when people need to get by.

A further update about UbiComp as far as interesting papers went will be posted either later today or tomorrow.