Well I sometimes think karma can work against a member... for instance if you see someone with very high karma, it could lead you to wonder just how many people they are winking at/messaging, looking at etc... so is it good karma or bad?!
Whatever, I'm in the top 20 so I don't care
Back to attendees..... disregarding the karma the events page is a great idea as folk can see who is going to an event, get in touch and arrange to meet along the way
And to be honest, I don't think about it too much, people do all sorts of things, for all sorts of reasons, but hey, live and let live I say