How to react to the retraction of a conference acceptance?

Question

One of my papers was accepted at a regional conference. The conference organizers wanted the presenters to register to the conference much more in advance than common. I wrote the organization chair and repeatedly expressed my sincerest intention to attend the conference. But with the conference being so far away and the registration being actually quite hefty, I asked the organizer about the cancellation policy, since there was none listed on their website. I also have a family situation that makes it hard for me to plan so far in advance, but for my career it would be important to present at conferences like this one. As a response, I received an email in which the conference organization chair basically retracted my conference acceptance. I am a little bit shocked, since I really wanted to attend the conference and thought I had made that clear in my email.

What would be the professional way to react? Do I just accept the conference chair's decision to retract my acceptance and walk away? Or do I email the chair, explain that I really want to attend and submit my registration fee?

Answer 1

If you're willing to register by the stated deadline (and that deadline hasn't already passed), then you could call the conference chair and explain that you would still like to present at the conference and that you're willing to register before the deadline. This is not the kind of problem that you'd want to resolve through emails.