To be clear, I'm saying that minicamp had more of what you call B-type effect on me (so far) that many other such events. So I'm talking about B, not just A. From the OP:

Note that mini-camp was far from the first time I've travelled to an event to surround myself with like-minded peers working toward common goals. [...] I've been to many such workshops, inside and outside academia (~3 per year for the past 10 years). [...] Yet mini-camp is still topping my charts.

In particular, I'm saying that in my experience it was much more effective, B-wise, than the base-rate of generic peer gatherings like Christianity camps (which I've been to).

So no, not everyone who's excited about minicamp is just talking about A. But yes, I agree with you, A is a lot of the conversation. I'm trying to focus on B.