The pushy and rude tactics has actually cost them sales at the fortune 50 company I work for.

If you work for a big company you know that you cant beat them off with a metal bat, however if you let them think you cant make those kind of decisions they’ll make sure to spit in your face before getting off the call.

I wouldnt take it personaly, core has a history of playing the cool security kid game, I can assure you it comes back to haunt them when the decision maker they’re trying to impress is the random suit they insulted at the last con or webexpo they held…

They actually never voiced a decision about inviting me in the first place when they called the first time, although it was pretty apparent from the tone of the conversation that I had a snowball’s chance in hell of actually getting in.

If they did turn around and offer me an invite, I would probably drop by for a drink or two and chat with the Core folks for a bit. It would depend on the scheduling, though, as I think I’ll have more actual fun with other disenfranchised potential attendees outside of the party.

A point I’m not sure that I’ve made clearly yet is that it’s entirely possible for Core to do the kind of screening they want for a party like this before sending out the email invites in the first place. If you’re already spending piles of money on Core Impact, then it’s a no brainer: they have a list and those folks should absolutely get invites. If you have enough money to be a potential Core Impact customer, then you’re on a very short list, and you have every right to expect that Core knows “who you are” before contacting you. Making people audition for a pass by asking them questions they’ve already answered, and then playing the game of “oh we’ll see if you make the cut” and “there’s a waiting list!” is just plain silly and insulting.

Hopefully they’ll stay true to their word and change that, and perhaps run their marketing folks through some etiquette training.