Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

[faye]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon

valkyrie- Great idea. I wish there had been a newbie panel last year. I'd even go to one this year even though its not my first time.


And yes. I would love to hear from some girls like you, Dj Jackalope and Mouse. I'd even like to see a "women and hacking" event in the future. Im sure a lot of people, male and female alike would be interested in a talk from females who have earned respect throughout the hacking community, how they did it, and the struggles they faced. More to come on that idea later, but too tired at the moment to go into it further.

In particular, I would suggest that photo's of key people (DT, Priest, Russ, Roamer, etc) be shown along with the human equivalent of Material Safety Data Sheets of not pissing them off, or what is worth bugging them about (i.e. this is the Goon shirt, they are here for fun enforcement, if someone preventing you from having fun by being a dick, bring this to their attention)

That would have been good to know last year. This should definitely be included in the newbie guide since newbies are most likely to be the ones to accidentally piss someone off then get stalked and harassed the entire rest of the con all for having done something stupid. Everyone makes mistakes, but no one should take it upon themselves to punish someone else. Noobs should know where to turn if they do get harassed for whatever reason..... ejecting someone from the con should be reserved for serious offenses that actually injure someone, (assault, theft, rape) and should be left up to those in charge. as the powers at be say "Hey Douchebags...we Don't Need Your Help"

apologies to those I offended last year, and I hope I get to make up for my mistakes this year. (See suggestion 5 below)

Couldn't agree more. This ought to be kind of a "Welcome to your first DEFCON, here are a few tips to keep you alive and with any luck out of jail" gathering rather than a "This will get you started in <insert field here>" presentation. Just my 2¢.

Agreed. I would avoid making it your responsibility to inform newbies of all the events at defcon, as they can read about it for themselves in the program guide/description of events in the defcon booklet you get. Though one or two sentences on new events might not be a bad idea for those that are regulars but attend your newbie panel anyway.


Some suggested topics might be:
1. watch how much you drink... and what you say, and especially what you say while drinking. : )

2. never give out your real phone number- you never know when your clone is going to attend a party in your absence and make an ass out of you.- Even if you dont happen to have a clone, its always a possibility that you might make an ass out of yourself all on your own, and if you do, your # will most likely end up on the forums somewhere... lol


3. Google can be your best friend, and your worst enemy. If theres something you dont want others knowing, make sure its not google-able.

(and yes Valkyrie you have my express permission to use me as an example while explaining 1, 2, and 3 lol)


4. how you can tell if someone is a Fed? Cause Federal Agents dont go around wearing shirts saying "I'm a Fed" like newbies might think they will.

5. If you piss someone off, buy them a six pack.... chances are they'll forgive whatever it was you did to annoy them, and if not, they'll at least forget about it after they've downed the alcohol you bought them. (wish I had thought of that last year)


(please ignore if any are already listed-too damn tired to read the entire thread but want to post my ideas before I forget)

[Xodia]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Excellent thread, I really hope this happens. I would have killed for something like this at my first con.

I have three ideas that come to mind. One would be a simple primer in Google-Fu. So many newcomers have no idea how to use Google, I think a quick intro to using Google effectively would be useful (Words not to use, lesser advertised search strings, search operators, blah blah) .

As far as general Defcon knowledge goes, I think ASTcell was going in the right direction. A discussion of the do's and don'ts of photos/video would be keen. Someone has to let the kiddies know they can't be snapping pictures of people without expecting some consequences occasionally. Equally, they can't get drunk, piss themselves, and be tagged without seeing it on the internet the next day.

For that matter, how to get drunk responsibly in Vegas heat would be a good idea (eating first, hydration, hangover cures, etc)....though I wouldn't have much credibility giving that talk.

[sintax_error]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

...

Basic topics like 'Defcon liver survival', 'Most hostile network on the planet', 'These 6 people will crush you if you screw up' should be on Thursday, Technical stuff, wait for con to officially start.

Just my thoughts

Couldn't agree more. This ought to be kind of a "Welcome to your first DEFCON, here are a few tips to keep you alive and with any luck out of jail" gathering rather than a "This will get you started in <insert field here>" presentation. Just my 2¢.

[Wing]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

I'd love this. I'll be showing up with a newbie or two and would love for them to be less clueless than I was.

It was hard enough dealing with just the ladyfriend last year (that was a mistake I'm NOT going to repeat, ended up giving up most of my social time and a few billion dollars for her retail therapy because she was disinterested in the con)

[renderman]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

You forgot the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd commandments of hacker con's:

1. Thou Shall Not Use The Wireless Network
2. Thou Shall Not Use The Wireless Network
3. Thou Shall Not Use The Wireless Network

Can I get an AMEM brothers & sisters!!!!!



xor

Reminds me of my latest gig, I walk into the clients offices, everyone reaches for the cat5 for their laptops. It's like I have a reputation or something.

That said, I think that a primer on the network hostility might be useful too, just in case someone*is* stupid enough to do something important and unencrypted

[xor]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Basic topics like 'Defcon liver survival', 'Most hostile network on the planet', 'These 6 people will crush you if you screw up' should be on Thursday, Technical stuff, wait for con to officially start.

You forgot the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd commandments of hacker con's:

1. Thou Shall Not Use The Wireless Network
2. Thou Shall Not Use The Wireless Network
3. Thou Shall Not Use The Wireless Network

Can I get an AMEM brothers & sisters!!!!!



xor

[renderman]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Generally we have possession of the space Thursday for setup, so if minimal A/V is needed, one of the small rooms along the main hallway could be used with minimal disturbance to those setting up

What rings through my mind as a sane order of events is:

1. You wander down on Thursday to register
2. Once registered, wander into the newbie room and hang out for an hour or so to get your orientation
3. Meet others, head off to TBBQ, etc.

I think trying to put too much would ruin Thursday. If we stick to 'Defcon survival basics' we can loop the talks a couple times, then go party. Other 'newbie' talks (technical) might be better suited for a skybox on Friday/Saturday

Basic topics like 'Defcon liver survival', 'Most hostile network on the planet', 'These 6 people will crush you if you screw up' should be on Thursday, Technical stuff, wait for con to officially start.

Just my thoughts

[Dallas]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Only thing I would throw in, is having it on Thur (or both thur and Friday), is to make people more aware of events like the Summit and TBBQ. Maybe at 14:00 - 15:00 ?

i think that Thursday evening or Friday morning may be the best option.

Heh, of course i'm speaking with my own interests in mind since i'd love to participate in this but all of Thursday except the evening winds up kind of running right into all the things that i coordinate or participate in that day... the DC-Shoot in the morning until noonish, gun cleaning noon to one or two, Titanium Chef from about two until four or five, and by then the TBBQ is getting going pretty well, etc.

Of course, Thursday evening is theSumit event, and i don't want to step on their toes, either. Friday morning may be the best bet. Just hope my fellow TOOOL people don't mind if i'm not there bright and early setting up our skybox.

In fact, speaking of... would a skybox maybe be a good option for this? For instance, it seems like some of the people interested in this are the type of folk who contribute to and hang out in the villages... if we took a vacant skybox (or, possibly even a double skybox with the wall opened up, depending on the level of interest expressed) that morning it would be a good, out of the way spot where people don't need badges in order to go... right?

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

The biggest problem I see is finding the appropriate time to fit it in and a place to hold the meeting. ... Thursday and ... sometime between 1300 - 1600, I think that might work, Otherwise what about 0800 - 0900 Friday morning?

i think that Thursday evening or Friday morning may be the best option.

Heh, of course i'm speaking with my own interests in mind since i'd love to participate in this but all of Thursday except the evening winds up kind of running right into all the things that i coordinate or participate in that day... the DC-Shoot in the morning until noonish, gun cleaning noon to one or two, Titanium Chef from about two until four or five, and by then the TBBQ is getting going pretty well, etc.

Of course, Thursday evening is theSumit event, and i don't want to step on their toes, either. Friday morning may be the best bet. Just hope my fellow TOOOL people don't mind if i'm not there bright and early setting up our skybox.

In fact, speaking of... would a skybox maybe be a good option for this? For instance, it seems like some of the people interested in this are the type of folk who contribute to and hang out in the villages... if we took a vacant skybox (or, possibly even a double skybox with the wall opened up, depending on the level of interest expressed) that morning it would be a good, out of the way spot where people don't need badges in order to go... right?

[DaKahuna]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

I agree. This is an outstanding idea. The biggest problem I see is finding the appropriate time to fit it in and a place to hold the meeting.

If we can get the use of one of the speaker rooms on Thursday and can do it sometime between 1300 - 1600, I think that might work, Otherwise what about 0800 - 0900 Friday morning?

[astcell]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Really looking good. I am so liking this.

[Dallas]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Great Work HighWiz, looking good..

[Ænder]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Reading over this, I am continually impressed with the lengths that both seasoned vets and newbies are willing to go to, to make this con better and better. I've been lurking the forums for a while now, and it really surprises me. Not because I believe that Defcon and its attendees are of a certain personality archetype, but because people in large groups have a tendency to not care. It's like with charity: a few will give more, but with an exponential rise in population the amount given goes down equally.

I am very excited to see what comes of this project. I, for one, would love to attend a primer and learn more about the various facets and events going on at this, my first ever Defcon. I will be delving into proper etiquette moreso as I am going to Shmoocon and Notacon this year as well. And, I say this with all sincerity, I can't wait to buy a few beers for the many friends I hope to make, while listening to some good stories and close to the vest wisdom I know many will have.

[HighWiz]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

So is anyone else besides valkyire, astcell, thorn and dallas really interested in being involved?

[valkyrie]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

How bout 101 level talks? Tabling the "Social introduction" to DefCon for a moment, and thinking more about Tech based talks to give "New Hackers" or "Would be Hackers" a primer or jumping off point. What kind of things would be good to cover?

I don't know about format, whether quick talks or longer discussions would be better, so it's something to be discussed. But throwing out ideas for both types is never a bad thing, they can be shrunken down/expanded depending on what's ultimately decided.

For an example, maybe Thorn and Renderman doing a primer/something on wireless. Valkyrie talking about Crypto in an intro to code breaking or something along those lines?

I'm sure some of this information is covered in the villages or can be found there. However, we/you people can be intimidating to a "Newbie" even if you're not trying to be. So a Newbie Track dealing specifically with those topics can be helpful in this format.

Let me know what you all think, whether that's the direction we want to go or rip down my ideas, it's all good...

I am in complete agreement with you about this. Yes, more detailed information about these topics is available elsewhere at con, however, as was pointed out, if one is not adept at researching the forums then one doesn't really know all that is going on. Hit them with the fire hose and then let them choose where they want to go deeper. The topics suggested are good. I would also suggest the following:

Overview of CTF events
Overview of DefCon Logistics (many folks really don't know what goes into putting this thing on)
Art and Music of DefCon (Anyone who saw my badge from last year knows what I am talking about)

Good suggestions? Not so good suggestions?

regards,

valkyrie
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