It's too bad that this 'no money no conf' meme continues to dominate. You can have something more than an 'unconf' or 'barcamp'-style event, even with no or minimal sponsors, especially with a team of organizers/planners to share any overflow expenses that do not get covered by ticket prices.
Yes, I do suggest that. Perhaps not actually look at it as just 'volunteering' time, but 'organizing an event'. If there were actual profits (income-expenses), then sharing those profits with the people who made the event happen (organizers, speakers, crew, etc).
