I think there's a lot of merit to having both WordCamps and new developer centric conferences like LoopConf. I've been to two WordCamps, and will be in Vegas next month for another one. For me, as a small business owner who struggles a lot with Impostor Syndrome, WordCamp was an absolute great place to start. I think attending a "professional" conference can be very intimidating for those of us who have really small, boutique businesses. Going to WordCamp really boosted my confidence and introduced me to an outside world with the human people I don't see in my home office! Now that I've been to a few, I feel a lot more comfortable attending bigger conferences wherein before I would probably have been reluctant to even consider it.

I think having the early bird price is great, and it's at a price point I would pay if there was room in my schedule to go. I'd definitely need to make sure the sessions were going to be high quality and relevant to my business before making the commitment though. If I didn't already have a lot of travel plans for the next few months, I'd definitely be thinking about attending LoopConf. (And I'd still go to WordCamps too, because I think there's a lot of value to those as well.)

I don't see that there needs to be controversial though. :)