FAQ - Registering for ESUG2011

The app should be self-explanatory - but if you have any questions, hopefully you can find the answers to them below.

I am paying full-rate and want to attend just Thursday and Friday Morning: do I tick both days?

No, you would be charged for both. Just tick Thursday, and mention in the 'Additional Text' that you will also attend Friday morning.

As Friday is only a half-day - the afternoon is the Seaside web-framework sprint - if you buy Thursday at full (not early-bird) one-day price, you may attend Friday morning as well.

I also want to enter for the software innovation award

Entry is open until July 30th. Read the instructions on entering for an award.

I want to attend the Camp Smalltalk weekend (20th - 21st August 2011) as well as the conference, but the registration app only offers the weekdays?

Camp Smalltalk is completely free to anyone who has registered for any day of the main conference. You don't have to register explicitly for it.

(Of course, don't forget to set your arrival date appropriately on the rooms list if you are staying in the conference accommodation.)

I'm not sure I can attend all five days of the conference? Should I buy the full early-bird, or just select the days I'm sure of?

There is no price difference between buying full early-bird and buying three or more individual days. The full early-bird is only £35 more expensive than two days. So,

  • if you can only attend one day, buy that day
  • if you are sure you can only attend two days, buy two

Otherwise, there is no price advantage in selecting less than the full conference. Of course, if you are sure you will not attend certain days, we are grateful if you unselect those days (it helps our planning) - but you can always login again and change your data later.

Is the social event included in the price or charged separately?

It is included. (So the only reason to unselect it would be if you were only attending other days, or knew you could not attend the event and wanted to let us know to help our planning.)

It is on Wednesday 24th, late afternoon / evening. We hope to see you there.

Does registering also put me on the rooms list for the conference accommodation?

Not automatically, since a few people will arrange other accommodation for part or all of their stay. (But we're expecting the large majority to stay in the conference accommodation. Edinburgh is popular in festival time, so other central accommodation may book up quickly or be significantly more expensive.)

So (unless you've made other accommodation arrangements), please add your arrival and departure dates to the rooms list as a separate action from registering.

If you have already entered specific dates in the list then, when your registration payment arrives in our account, your provisional reservation will be confirmed. If you put yourself on the rooms list after that, your room will be reserved and confirmed promptly. If you are on the rooms list but have not yet entered specific dates, you will receive emails from time to time, reminding you that we cannot confirm your room until you do.

Should I pay in pounds or euros?

To avoid (or minimise) any currency conversion cost

  • if you are paying from a euro account, select 'euro'
  • if you are paying from a pounds account, select 'pound'
  • if you are paying from any other account (dollars, whatever), select 'pound'

Should I pay by Bank Transfer or Paypal?

If you have internet banking in the UK or France, bank transfer may be easy and most cost effective. Otherwise, it depends.

If you select Paypal as your payment method, the transaction proceeds like any other web purchase. You are prompted either to login to your paypal account or to enter credit card or debit card data. (Paypal may add a small charge to what you pay, as fee or as inter-country and currency-conversion cost.)

If you select Bank Transfer, you are shown the numbers of our UK (pounds) or French (euros) account. (You can see these numbers again at any future time by logging in to the registration app and selecting 'My Registration' and 'Generate Invoice'.)

  • If you have internet banking in the UK or France, login to it (either right away or within a few days, as suits you) and order the payment, entering our bank sort code and account number. There should be zero transfer charge.
  • If you have internet banking elsewhere, and its interface supports inter-country payments, then you can do the same, also adding our IBAN and other inter-country numbers as required. (In this case, a small inter-country and currency-conversion cost may be added, as with paypal.)
  • If you can't input the cross-country codes online, you can print the payment page or invoice, give it to your bank branch and ask them to make payment.

When your bank transfer arrives in our account, we update your status in the registration app from 'registered (not yet paid)' to 'registered (paid)'. Please put your email in the payment's text field to speed that reconciliation.

I think I am entitled to a discount. How do I claim it?

There is a code for each reduction. During the payment process in the app, enter the code in the 'Reduction' text box.

  • If your company is a platinum or gold ESUG sponsor, the principle contact in your company should know your company's code; alternatively, contact a board member or organiser to obtain it.
  • If you are a speaker who has specifically requested, and been granted, a discount under one of the approved categories, contact one of the organisers or board members with whom you have corresponded to get your code.
  • If you are a student volunteer, the relevant board member will give you instructions on how to register.