On Tuesday, April 28, we will publish a list of all accepted sessions for SRCCON 2015. The following day—Wednesday, April 29, at 2pm EDT—tickets go on sale. Last year, tickets sold out within three minutes, and while we hope they won’t evaporate quite as quickly this year, we do expect them to sell out.

Before the open sale begins, session leaders for all accepted sessions will have been given a chance to buy a ticket, and we will also have reserved tickets for scholarship recipients. If you don’t fall into one of those categories, and you miss the open sale, there are two remaining ways to obtain a ticket:

• Get your organization to become a sponsor
• Become a volunteer (spots are limited—email to be notified when we publish full details)

If neither of those possibilities works for you, you’re still not entirely out of luck. Live transcription returns to SRCCON this year, and we are actively working on other ways to share out the discussions and information that emerges from SRCCON sessions.

So that’s how ticketing works. But maybe you’re still on the fence about SRCCON, or are worried that you won’t quite fit in. If so, worry no longer—instead, check out our five top reasons why you shouldn’t come to SRCCON (and why they’re all wrong).

1. SRCCON seems really technical, and I’m not a coder

Awesome! A lot of us aren’t coders—our attendees include editors and reporters who work with data, visual designers, journalism students, and more. SRCCON sessions deal with design, culture, data, and a lot of other things, and many require zero technical experience. No one will think it’s weird if you don’t program.

2. SRCCON is about journalism, and I’m not a journalist

Rule of thumb: If you’re psyched about the work of journalism—or about fields that share its goals, like civic hacking and open data—you’ll feel very welcome at SRCCON. Our conversations are about doing the work better, but also about making the community itself better—and about doing right by our readers and constituents. If you care about those things, you belong at SRCCON.

3. I don’t have a travel budget

Travel scholarships are open through Friday April 24, and everyone who is awarded a scholarship receives a reserved ticket.

4. I don’t know any of the cool kids/unconferences make me nervous

SRCCON is a friendly, welcoming, participatory event, and our sessions are about bringing your skills and experiences into a conversation, not just listening to prepared talks or receiving advice from experts. Sessions are constructed to be interactive and conversational, and we offer ample time in between sessions to really dig into a topic or question with other people at the conference.

As importantly, there’s no A-list. Everyone who attends must buy a ticket, and everyone shows up excited to work with their peers. Even if you arrive knowing no one, you’ll soon meet people over a vast array of snacks and get to know others by working together on interesting projects and problems.

5. I need childcare/allergy-friendly meals/other accommodations

We offer licensed, on-site childcare at the conference hotel across the street from the venue, which is ADA-compliant. The catering staff can handle just about any dietary requirements, and our whole event crew is dedicated to getting accommodations right and making sure it all works on the ground. If you have questions about specific accommodations, send us a note and we’ll get right back to you.