I worked with JoshuaKerievsky on UsingPatterns. I'm also a long time member of the New York DesignPatternsStudyGroup (NewYorkStudyGroup).
I enjoyed UsingPatterns very much. I feel it was very successful.
I'm the conference chair for UsingPatterns98. Some feedback:
- I think UP98 will be larger than UP97. That is, patterns will reach a milestone of interest over the next twelve months so that there will be many more people who will want to attend.
- UP98 days could end a little earlier so attendees don't die of exhaustion.