I think the badge situation has gotten a bit weird at Defcon. Ultimately, the purpose of the badge is to provide proof that you have the right to roam around Defcon. To that end, it doesn't make sense to reveal what the badge looks like ahead of time or people can simply forge it.
What the badge does is kind of fun and interesting. There seems to be little incentive to keep that a secret except that it provides a bit more of a surprise.
So why does Defcon release detailed pictures of the badge before the conference but keep the source code locked up until the day of?
Perhaps we could open up the source of next year's badge to contributions and possibly squash bugs before they happen. We might also keep Joe from apologizing every year for his state machines.
Thoughts?
What the badge does is kind of fun and interesting. There seems to be little incentive to keep that a secret except that it provides a bit more of a surprise.
So why does Defcon release detailed pictures of the badge before the conference but keep the source code locked up until the day of?
Perhaps we could open up the source of next year's badge to contributions and possibly squash bugs before they happen. We might also keep Joe from apologizing every year for his state machines.

Thoughts?
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