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[larryc]

-Presenters who go way over their time limits.

-Session chairs who sit there and let them.

-People who give speeches about their own work from the floor in the guise of a question.

-Commenters who talk mostly about how great they are instead of about the papers.

What else? This seems like a rich topic for discussion.

[magistra]

Questions out of left field.  You want me to address that why, exactly?

Sigh.  No question at all...

[epistephiliac]

- Commenters whose question essentially boils down to, "Why isn't your work about my work?"

[aandsdean]

-Presenters who go way over their time limits.

-Session chairs who sit there and let them.

-People who give speeches about their own work from the floor in the guise of a question.

-Commenters who talk mostly about how great they are instead of about the papers.

What else? This seems like a rich topic for discussion.

Professors who invite grad students to dinner at expensive big-city restaurants and order really expensive meals and expensive cocktails while the grad students eat an hors-d'oeuvre and drink a beer and a glass of water, and then the professors say, "Oh, let's just split the bill evenly--it's so much easier."  (I haven't done this, but I've been at the table when it's happened and intervened on behalf of the grad student.)

[miss_m]

LarryC,

Ditto for your list.

I will add

--presenters who start by saying "I just want to speak extemporaneously for a while.  It's so much easier and more collegial than just reading a boring old paper."  Of course, these people then proceed to talk way over time and/or get stopped without making a point.

--presenters who decide they can't cut their papers down and just read faster to cram it all into the time limit.

There are probably more, but I can't think of them now.  Let's see who else does.

[the_honey_badger]

---those who attack graduate student presenters.  And, I mean *attack* not simply ask tough questions. I've seen a couple of ugly episodes over the decade I've been attending them.

---those who attack a powerful advisor/mentor through their grad student or very junior faculty.  (Related to #1, naturally, but petty, petty, petty and obvious)

--those who take the Q&A as an opportunity to hold forth on their hatred of an entire sub-field or methodology.

---and, my favorite and staple of the AHA and OAH: "the eye slide."  The glance at the name tag and if the person doesn't appear to be important enough, the "eyes slide on to the next target."  (term courtesy of an old grad school friend)

[carebearstare]

-Presenters who fiddle with the A/V for 10 minutes, eating up the time limit, only to have a boring power point with bad graphics and bullet points that does nothing to illuminate the paper.

-Presenters who don't show up to conferences and then have someone else read the paper they would have delivered had they been there... especially when the paper is not very good.

-Presenters who sing, dance, or otherwise perform during their presentations.

[the_honey_badger]

Professors who invite grad students to dinner at expensive big-city restaurants and order really expensive meals and expensive cocktails while the grad students eat an hors-d'oeuvre and drink a beer and a glass of water, and then the professors say, "Oh, let's just split the bill evenly--it's so much easier."  (I haven't done this, but I've been at the table when it's happened and intervened on behalf of the grad student.)

Thank you, I've been *that* grad student in my day and remember the absolute near heart attack I had seeing every cent of my meal and travel cash about to disappear into a food bill when I had coffee and soup (having claimed an upset stomach and a desire for a light meal).  A junior faculty member at the table jumped in and said it wouldn't be easier for those who didn't have drinks and a full dinner and I am eternally grateful to that man!

[magistra]

---and, my favorite and staple of the AHA and OAH: "the eye slide."  The glance at the name tag and if the person doesn't appear to be important enough, the "eyes slide on to the next target."  (term courtesy of an old grad school friend)

Oh, yes.  And it's partner, dumping the person you're talking to the moment someone higher up the food chain appears. 

Publicly asking how many interviews a person has, when you've got plenty and suspect the other doesn't.

[poll_grad]

Professors who invite grad students to dinner at expensive big-city restaurants and order really expensive meals and expensive cocktails while the grad students eat an hors-d'oeuvre and drink a beer and a glass of water, and then the professors say, "Oh, let's just split the bill evenly--it's so much easier."  (I haven't done this, but I've been at the table when it's happened and intervened on behalf of the grad student.)

Thank you, I've been *that* grad student in my day and remember the absolute near heart attack I had seeing every cent of my meal and travel cash about to disappear into a food bill when I had coffee and soup (having claimed an upset stomach and a desire for a light meal).  A junior faculty member at the table jumped in and said it wouldn't be easier for those who didn't have drinks and a full dinner and I am eternally grateful to that man!

This makes me extremely grateful that the professors in my department are good people (for the most part).  When I've been out with professors at conferences, we've either broken things down by who had what or a prof has actually paid for everyone.

As for what annoys me:
Acting like you don't really know grad students from your institution because you're so busy networking with bigger fish (and it doesn't occur to you that the grad students need to know these people too).

People acting clique-ish.  Wait, that annoys me all the time not just at conferences.

Everything social revolves around alcohol.

[jackit]

....

Professors who invite grad students to dinner at expensive big-city restaurants and order really expensive meals and expensive cocktails while the grad students eat an hors-d'oeuvre and drink a beer and a glass of water, and then the professors say, "Oh, let's just split the bill evenly--it's so much easier."  (I haven't done this, but I've been at the table when it's happened and intervened on behalf of the grad student.)

...

This happened to me.  The senior scientists drank wine for a couple of hours.  I had a $60 salad.

[joey_fan]

More types of bad presenters:

-Those who fiddle with technology (e.g., don't know how to work their slides, etc.).
-Variant: Presenters who wastes time getting everything set up and the slides they use end up being boring/superfluous anyway.
-Presenters who use affected accents to pronounce foreign words/names 'correctly.'
-Presenters who end their papers with strings of rhetorical questions.

Other annoying behavior:

-General culture of 'talking to your name tag' or looking over your shoulder to see if important "Professor Superstar" is in the room.
-Making comments about current events and tacitly assuming everyone is liberal/democrat/secular/what-have-you - when that's actually not the case.
-Griping about the unfortunate Southern/Midwestern or "flyover" conference venue.
-Variant: "NYC is the center of the universe" talk.

[joey_fan]

Ah yes "the eye slide" - I like that term!

---and, my favorite and staple of the AHA and OAH: "the eye slide."  The glance at the name tag and if the person doesn't appear to be important enough, the "eyes slide on to the next target."  (term courtesy of an old grad school friend)

[chaud]

I recently had someone question my research methodology who obviously didn't know what he was talking about. I put him in him place though, informing him that the work had been accepted to the premier journal in my subfield.

Folks who incorrectly or infrequently cite other authors whose work they are presenting as their own.

Running into someone who interviewed you and made you an offer that you turned down who says two words to you then pretends you're not there and staring off into space.

[jackit]

Even More Annoying Things (Science) Academics do at Conferences

-- Talk over a slide, ignoring it's content, before hitting the forward button.  What was the slide for, anyway?

-- Assume everyone wants to hear a knock-down drag-out 'you are wrong and here is why' back and forth as part of the followup questions.  Geez, people, make your point and move on.

-- Show a complicated diagram meant to *impress us all* rather than convey information.  Yes, we know you are brilliant.  Get over it.

-- & the related slide of math that no one can follow.  Just list the inputs and outputs, K?

-- Pass out while giving the talk because you never wear a tie and the collar was too tight. 

-- Submit 10 talks with your grad students as the presenters, and give all the talks yourself with the preface 'Unfortunately XXX couldn't be here.'  Because you wouldn't pay for it!

--  Refuse to stop someone from your own institution from running over; reduce the time of the next speaker because they gave a quick talk to get into a lengthy and productive Q&A (OK - so this happened to me.)

-- Mumble.

-- Don't rehearse.  I mean, hey, I'm cool & we're all here to enjoy this presentation....let's see...this is, I think, uh,....

-- Respond to a question with 'That's a good point,' when in fact you think it's complete bullsh!t and you should tell us all why.

(end Part I.)