The biggest problem with ccc is that:
0. They are releasing too few tickets.
1. They are releasing the tickets too late.
3. Still not able to pay with card?
I live somewhat nearby, but can’t book or plan a visit because of this. I appreciate that they are releasing videos shortly afterwards though.
Ad too few tickets: I happen to live close by the venue (CCH in Hamburg) they fill up. And they do fill it up. That is the limiting factor.
Some person that wanted to get a ticket not getting one is bad, but what is worse is to have more visitors than you or the venue can safely handle. This and of course you still want it to work for the type of event you're doing, with multiple stages, parallel talks, ideally minimum walking distances, not a lot of extra tech to rent in terms of projection, sound etc.
To my knowledge the 3C congresses have been a story of growth and having to move to the next-bigger venue throughout the years.
You can pay with a card, but there is an additional 5 Euros fee (which is fair enough).
I booked a refundable hotel already in the summer, in case I won't get the tickets. But getting the ticket this year was relatively easy (though maybe I just got lucky).
There wasn't even enough assembly space this year, it was bursting at the seams. Sadly I think CCH is just too small for this conference. There's a much bigger conference space space down the street, but the rumor is that going back to Leipzig (where it was held during the renovation of CCH) is back in discussion. That place was too big though.
At the time when this took place in Berlin, in the Berlin Congress Center, which was rather small, there were only a few hundred seats available, and most of them had already been allocated before they even went on sale.
It was also a great excuse to spend New Year's Eve in Berlin.
I live somewhat nearby, but can’t book or plan a visit because of this. I appreciate that they are releasing videos shortly afterwards though.