Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

[Dallas]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

How to get into a dick?

Um..not dick, party. Crap that sounded wrong when I wrote it.

[astcell]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Id offer up the topic of parties, not being a dick, how to potentially get into one, ect..

Things to bring, swag, ect..

How to get into a dick?

[valkyrie]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Id offer up the topic of parties, not being a dick, how to potentially get into one, ect..

Things to bring, swag, ect..

bring your hat. :-D

[astcell]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

This reminds me of my college days. The week before classes started we had a primer on everything from how to study to how to dance. Folks could choose between two tracks in case one was not interesting to them. They did not want folks wandering off and possibly not coming back.

There are many good topics to cover. May I suggest that we have one track for the computer literate and one for the folks who aspire to computer literacy one day?

I made a comment ages ago which Cotman still refers to. We do not care if you run the shake machine at McDonald's. Be proud of who you are and the direction you wish to travel in life. Do not try to hoodwink us with your leet secrets like tracert, ping, and the NSA IP of 127.0.0.1. We are not as impressed by knowledge as much as the ability to attain knowledge. And a step above that? be one of those selected to represent Defcon to the newbie track a few years down the road. This is the completion of the circle.

Let us speak of what we know, and share our experiences. Maybe you are a leet coder who knows wi-fi, but at DC9 you were sharpied. Or maybe you ended up in the pool. Or maybe you drank a little too much. As respected as some folks are now, we did not all start out that way. We had to earn our respect. Those of us here have attained that level. Fucktard Hall shows the corpses of many who failed to achieve the minimum expectations to even glance in our direction.

If I was considered of a caliber to share my defcon experiences with others, my topics of choice would be:
-Photography and what orifices will house your camera if you are not careful
-Why beer is the currency of choice
-Why looks do not matter, or Supergeniuses that just want to share a beer (Kevin, Robert, CC)
-Why 9pm is not a good bedtime but 9am may be

There may be other topics that I am able to discuss, but we shall see the varieties of folks who sign up here and what is offered.

BTW I plan to have at least a beer the entire talk, shouldn't we all?

[Dallas]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Id offer up the topic of parties, not being a dick, how to potentially get into one, ect..

Things to bring, swag, ect..

[valkyrie]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

I would love to hear from Render and Grey, Thorn, HighWiz, perhaps from AstCell, DT if he would grace the newbs with his most awesome presence and perhaps a girly or two: Jackalope comes to mind. So does Mouse.

Regards,

valkyrie
__________________________________________________ _____________________
sapere aude

[valkyrie]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon and other related items

Well, HighWiz, since you have owned the FAQ, do you wish to own this effort, I mean since there are so many wonderful people who are interested, perhaps you would wish to own what talks are most important? I do agree with Thorn, speed topics are perhaps the best? Love the idea of photos, etc., as long as those individuals are okay with that.

Regards,

valkyrie
__________________________________________________ ____________________
sapere aude

[Thorn]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon

I'll cover this in a seperate posting, but needless to say, I wouldn't just give out the FAQ as a handout... I'll cover my thoughts when I have the time to write a detailed posting.







Let's move on from the singular idea of "Intro to new people at Defcon or DefCon Survival". It's a good idea, but what else is there? Wireless, Lock picking, etc... What other idea's are there? These are intro tracks for newbies, I'm sure some people have some good ones even if they themselves don't wish to give the talk. Idea's?

Well, the questions I'd ask is 'how long would this be? Are we talking just and hour or two, or longer?' A bunch of 5 to 10 minute long "Quick Intro to ____" could be fit in to an hour in addition to a "Basic Survival Guide".

Lessee, suitable topics...

Contests, Why You Should Take Part
The Black & White Balls
The Villages: Lockpick, Wireless, Hardware
Socialize! There Are 7000 People Here. Meet Some!
The Press: Why Some Think You're the Evil HaX0rz 1337 (And Why The Press Is Wrong)
Why There Are So Many Feds
Why Pool 3 Is Purple (Uh, strike that one...)

[HighWiz]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon

Thorn's idea is a good place to start. Your FAQ is indeed most awesome and would work as a handout. I suggested doing speed talks because some people can't/don't like to read and I am sure the level of comfort and confidence would be increased by actually having warm bodies talk to one. AstCell had some interesting suggestions regarding this.

I'll cover this in a seperate posting, but needless to say, I wouldn't just give out the FAQ as a handout... I'll cover my thoughts when I have the time to write a detailed posting.

Funny, I had almost the same idea of some slides/photos:

You approaching a big guy in a red shirt for help: Good.
Big guy in a red shirt quickly approaching you: Bad
Several big guys in red shirts approaching you at a high rate of speed: Don't bother running, you'll just die tired.

I am more than willing to throw my fedora into this as well to share insights on surviving as I have for the last 10 year of DC.

I think that it would be a good sign if someone showed up to this, it would show that the newb has an interest in learning which bodes well all around. I think that press should also be asked nicely or even forced to attend such an event to get them some background (aside from the ground rules established by the press wranglers).

Think of it like orientation at a University rather than a list of things that will get you kicked out.

Let's move on from the singular idea of "Intro to new people at Defcon or DefCon Survival". It's a good idea, but what else is there? Wireless, Lock picking, etc... What other idea's are there? These are intro tracks for newbies, I'm sure some people have some good ones even if they themselves don't wish to give the talk. Idea's?

[afterburn188]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon

Well I exactly don't know what I could bring to the table but I plan to be around as early as Wednesday and would be willing to help. I think this is a great idea. For DC16 my group was hanging around Wed and Thursday not knowing what to do until Friday. Found out about Sushicon and the Toxic BBQ by searching the forums once we got to Vegas. This would have been perfect in that instance. So yeah, I'll be there. I will have almost all our equipment by Thursday so if there's any need for a hardware related mini-talk, I think we can assist with that.

[Thorn]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon

...

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)

Funny, I had almost the same idea of some slides/photos:

You approaching a big guy in a red shirt for help: Good.
Big guy in a red shirt quickly approaching you: Bad
Several big guys in red shirts approaching you at a high rate of speed: Don't bother running, you'll just die tired.

[renderman]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon

I am more than willing to throw my fedora into this as well to share insights on surviving as I have for the last 10 year of DC.

I think that it would be a good sign if someone showed up to this, it would show that the newb has an interest in learning which bodes well all around. I think that press should also be asked nicely or even forced to attend such an event to get them some background (aside from the ground rules established by the press wranglers).

Think of it like orientation at a University rather than a list of things that will get you kicked out.

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)

[Sereyna]

Re: Newbie Track: surviving defcon

As a computer-con-newbie, I second all the comments that this is an awesome idea, and vouch for the fact that I, for one, would be attending. My younger sister as well, since we're flying in together Wednesday. As a other-convention attendee of over a decade, and a co-chair of events for half that time, I'd love to help out in any capacity that I might be able to fill.

[Dallas]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

Count me in, this would help a lot. I think the newbies could benefit. I think your topics are all valid, maybe include a copy of the FAQ on CD for everyone to take with them from the session. But as always, plan it before the TBBQ so we can give them the opportunity to come...

Thorn's idea is a good place to start. Your FAQ is indeed most awesome and would work as a handout. I suggested doing speed talks because some people can't/don't like to read and I am sure the level of comfort and confidence would be increased by actually having warm bodies talk to one. AstCell had some interesting suggestions regarding this.

Regards,

valkyrie
__________________________________________________ _____________
sapere aude

[valkyrie]

Re: Defcon 17 suggestions

So who else is on board?

I saw Astcell say: .

I'm sure there must be other people who want to throw in? What are yours/everyone elses ideas on logistics? How bout ideas on talks that can be given? Thoughts on how it will be run so as to not negatively impact the other events already on Thursday (ie: ToxicBBQ).

I talked to TheCotMan about creating a category under "Projects" as this is may be a perfect/ideal use for that forum function. Though I suppose it could also be slaved under Contest/Events as well in the Projects area.

Thorn's idea is a good place to start. Your FAQ is indeed most awesome and would work as a handout. I suggested doing speed talks because some people can't/don't like to read and I am sure the level of comfort and confidence would be increased by actually having warm bodies talk to one. AstCell had some interesting suggestions regarding this.

Regards,

valkyrie
__________________________________________________ _____________
sapere aude