i was a frequent speaker and participant on the Android technical conference circuit before I got into bitcoin development. i had so much fun going to conferences and giving talks. i made friends that arguably are the reason i work in bitcoin now.

bitcoin++ is meant to replicate that experience for bitcoin development.

as for why "no virtual" i've been to one or two virtual conferences but i've never found them to be particularly worth my attention or time. maybe i'm doing it wrong. we could do a virtual event, but my interest and passion isn't there for it.