I'm curious what the *professional* and ethical arguments in favor of invitation-only conferences. It seems to me the arguments against such a practice are obvious, and yet these things are still quite common.
The only defense of them I've heard is basically 'I want an excuse to hang out with my friends in my subdiscipline', but that does not seem like sufficient grounds to keep these things going.
- I'm not casting judgment on people who go to these things, I have even done so myself. But I've always felt icky about them.
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I think there is a very wide spectrum here of invite only conferences and spaces, where on one extreme is a good old boys club and on the other extreme ways and reasons to fund liberatory and abolitionist spaces for those (especially graduate students) who normally would not get to meet, or meet in safe and affirming spaces.
As to the ratio and range of where most "invite only conferences" fall... We can just look at existing power structures within the university.
I would add to this the location and costs associated with "open" conferences that become cost inhibitive for many and effectively filter out anyone who is not extremely well funded. Some of these conferences are not open at all. One of the first things I look for are if they offer a sliding scale for registration (again, especially for graduate students) and significantly reduced cost lodging.
