If it weren't for that element, there would be self-righteous one-upmanship and pious guilt-trips, and that would kill it.

Actually, it was those two things that contributed to me putting Penguicon at arm's length a couple of years back, from a volunteering and attending standpoint. There were other factors, but to say that those two do not and did not exist isn't entirely accurate.

I will say this has improved greatly in the last year, now that certain key personalities aren't around as much anymore. The concom for this year seems to be a decent group of folks, if the mailing list postings are any indication.