FLAME: WCNN'95 - science in the mud pits

[Jordan Pollack]

I kept quiet about the first IEEE NN conference in 1987, where every
paper was accepted, and sorted by how well the author's name was
recognized by the local committee, a feast of surplus dollars were
collected in hyperinflated registration fees.

I just never submitted another paper. But these policies are sickening:

>Authors must submit 
>registration payment with papers to be eligible for the early 
>registration fee...Registration fee includes 1995 membership and a 
>one (1) year subscription to  the Journal Neural Networks.
>A $35 per paper processing fee must be enclosed 
>in order for the paper to be refereed.

Reading fees are charged by agents for aspiring science fiction
writers. Linking registration to submission is nothing more than an
admission that all papers are to be accepted.  And a fee of $480 is
paying a lot more than membership, subscription, and a few days of
coffee breaks!

Also, since the size of the intersection of the two sets
   |ORGANIZING COMMITTEE & PLENARY SPEAKERS| 
is 4 instead of 0, I guess a pentium chip was used.

WHERE are the ethical governors of this scientific society?

Jordan Pollack                           Associate Professor
Computer Science Department              Center for Complex Systems
Brandeis University                      Phone: (617) 736-2713/fax 2741
Waltham, MA 02254                        email: pollack at cs.brandeis.edu