NeurIPS 2026: handling of multiple venue locations seems bad [D]

There has been a recent post acknowledging that NeurIPS passes for Sydney sold out in minutes. For paper authors (guaranteed 1 pass at their designated location) — we recently received forms to select a preferred venue, but apparently we’re not guaranteed to present there. I thought it’s a good idea to discuss what this means. Does everyone want to go to Sydney? Is it going to be unlikely to get sent there if you’re in, e.g, Europe? I hear it’s the “main” venue. Is that really the appropriate way to go about things — having a “main” location with all the cool stuff and f*cking over a bunch of