Clickability's announcement of a pending 2007 user conference (2006 agenda here) reminds us that sometimes customer communities need to meet in person, even if they don't regularly communicate online. That's one of many reasons to attend user conferences if you're a current or potential future buyer of a CMS. Knowledge and experience-sharing with other customers is a start, but at the best such gatherings you can also participate in hands-on technical training sessions. Just beware of the ubiquitous cross-selling of the company's products you may not already own -- inevitable salemanship when there's a captive audience on hand. Some companies, such as Ektron (who just announced their first user conference in Boston for the fall of 2007), are savvy enough to solicit input from their customers in order to shape the conference agenda. This is a great way to let your vendor know what you need. Be sure to encourage customer extranets, forums and improved support, while you're at it. While big vendors such as Vignette and Interwoven have held user conferences for nearly a decade, there's no reason why smaller suppliers can't think bigger in a customer-focused way.