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All the conferences in my field have literal security guards checking the badges that are only handed out after paying hundreds of dollars to register.

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Of course, but you don't need to attend the conference to read and benefit from the research, and that's the important thing.

The journal business model usually requires restricting access to the research, while the conference business model still works when the research is free.

Except that conference proceedings can be exactly like a journal, i.e. you often need to pay to access them.

There must be some benefit to attending conferences, otherwise why would scientists attend them?

Yeah, but it's usually more about a chance to socialize with other people in the field.

It's also interesting to hear other people's talks that serve as a "teaser" for what's in the paper.

That's the whole point. Conferences can provide a benefit worth paying for without putting the research itself behind paywalls like journals do.

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