Charles Platt on the Alcor Conference, Cryonics, and Related Topics
Charles Platt, who presently works with Suspended Animation, Inc., has a long history with the cryonics community. Over at CryoNet, you'll find a three part report on the recent Alcor conference:
There might be a touch too much insight into the sausage-making process for some folk. Small communities of passionate people tend to produce the sort of history, disagreements and debates worthy of a writeup - and that might not appear too noble at first glance, or from certain angles. There's no such thing as too much transparency or constructive criticism, however - for any service, never mind one upon which you are relying for a chance at life. It seems to me that Alcor is more transparent than many organizations seeded by a small, motivated community.
The cryonics industry, small and still very dependent on passion and volunteerism, suffers from all of the problems you normally find in those circumstances. Resources are tight, bad apples can have a disproportionate effect, and so forth. That the industry has sustained itself and even managed some growth and professionalization over a number of decades speaks well of those folk who stepped up and got the job done when a crisis loomed. But that's no way to run for the long term; one day, through accident or decline, there will be no-one there capable of saving the day.
This is why the cryonics industry needs publicity, economic offshoots, spin-off technologies, demonstrated progress in research related to the core ideal of cryopreservation and restoration, and other means of becoming larger and more viable. The goal must be more eggs in more baskets, such that there will always be resources on tap to handle the unexpected.