Party congresses: democratic decay?

[Die Neue Zeit]

Given the nature of any organization, the bigger it is, the more top-down it can be. For example, compare the Eighth Congress of the RCP(B) and its 403 delegates (102 non-voting) to over 1,100 delgates in the Tenth Congress and subsequent congresses (near 5,000 for every congress after the Palace of Congresses was completed in 1961 (http://www.answers.com/topic/party-congresses-and-conferences)), what is the ideal size of any party congress of a revolutionary socialist party?

Oh, and what about party conferences, as well?

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

The size can only be reflective of the number of members of an organization, and their ability to send delegates (in the cases of organizations that span large geographical areas).

Otherwise, I'm surprised no one has anything to say on party congresses. I'm interested to hear what comrades think.

[Tower of Bebel]

What party conferences conserns:

1. A party should be devided in different local meetings, small groups. In advance of the conference each local meeting should be able to read and (maybe) vote the texts and resolutions.

2. At the conference itself, all members should have knowledge of each discussion that is going on at the conference, and should have discussed it by themselves some days earlier in small groups. If there is a vote, then each member should already know what to vote for.