DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

[Club81]

Good:

• The people: DEFCON organizers, workers, goons, registration desk, contest area, competition organizers, et. al are all kick ass. We couldn't ask for a better group of folks putting this together.

• The content: The talks looked pretty good this year and the contests/events were hopping as normal at DEFCON

• The timing: I LOVE Vegas in July/August when it's "Kick your dog" Hot! Flights and rooms are cheap and it's good to get out in 111 heat every once in a while

• Not clearing the rooms: YES! Great move! My favorite thing from DEFCON 16 was camping out in a room that had a solid day schedule and enjoy 4-5 talks without leaving.

• Chill out area: First time I hit this up. Very fun and relaxing. It'll be a staple from now on.

Bad:

• Venue: The Riv is too small (as covered the past couple of years). I didn't make it to a single talk. Not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't want to wait in those long lines. I'd like to be able to go to look at the schedule and know that I can get to any talk at any time. Is that possible anywhere? It seemed to be possible at Caesar's for Black Hat.

[wizardai]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

The only bad thing I had was the line management. Although it was my first time to dc (yay!), while waiting for a talk they snaked a line which seemed very smart at first (it is smart!). But, like always, you'll have people who want to get in before others. So about 1/2 along the first line, the 2nd line merged and pissed off a few people.

It was great! But it did seem like the place was too small for that many people.

Oh one more thing! The seating spacing was bad! I saw 2 dudes sharing 3 chairs, maybe 4 because they couldn't fit in 1 each, which is fine. But I was hugging up on 2 guys all day everywhere as well! Not that myself and the guys on the left and right are huge, but just didn't fit with a combination of big and tall.

Other than that, it was great! Will look forward to going next year!

[paint]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

thrilled were going to be at the Rio next year !! one thing i kept thinking all weekend was tis con needs pen and teller. lolz.


as always the goons were awsome
specialprops to PReist for clearing out hacker pimps party and everyone for folllowing orders with out question so crazy guy could be taken inot custody.
thank you for keeping us safe.
Goon swim this year was the best ever . no kiler bees , or aids in the pool...ut the ball herding ... well i think over all wasa blast but those balls didn't want to cooperate.


the dine and dashers at Kady's were NOT cool
(denny's is very close and hasa $2,$4,$6m budget menu ifyou ask for it )
BUT the fact that . an instant collection covered a few bad apples and earned more money for EFF, was awsome


EFF getting close to 40K this year was amazing
i hope someone posts the video of DT's face when he heard the number it was priceless.

BADGES!!! THANK YOU KINGPIN!!!!
finally actually did more then just paint on mine this year i <3 LCD screens
and these i can actually mode with my one talent .

elevator hacking
friends i haven't seen for 2 years that couldn't make the con dialed in to the elevator com system ( from out of state) and by chance we walked in on them .

LOL

over all great con
probly the best defcon yet.

really lookin forward ot next year .

[zCat]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

Good:

* Badges on time
* Talks on time
* Plenty of diverse talks
* Diverse layout - if you didn't want to join the herd in a line for tracks 1-4, you could just walk over to track 5 which had plenty of room
* Uber-cool aluminum badge
* Pocket sized schedule
* Happy, possibly amused Goons


Bad:

* Queue mentality (there were plenty of seats in the hall, but people were lining up outside 20 minutes into the current talk for the next talk... WTF?)
* Because of the lines into the popular talks or the smaller halls, it became socially unacceptable (at least to some attendees) to vacate either your spot in line or your seat in a talk in progress and come back. Bad luck for you if you needed to go to the bathroom. This despite the fact that there were plenty of seats scattered throughout the talk... yet another WTF.
* Thursday is the new Friday... for two hours. God help you if you wanted an electronic badge to play with and you didn't show up early to get in a line.
* WTF to the Riv for the indoor rainstorm in the Lockpicking Village, although to their credit they got it cleaned up and usable for the next day.


With that said, I had a good time, enjoyed the talks I got into, and made a conscious decision to spend my time having fun where I found it, instead of spending it shuffling in lines. Thanks to the staff, speakers, organizers, the goons (and the attendees) for making it happen.

[Xr@y]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

Good:

- I thought the talks were amazing. Great job at selecting the presenters
- Goons!! Thanks for doing the 'dirty work' guys. You did your job, kept things cool and helped in a BIG way to ensure everyone had a good time. (P.S. thanks for the line management letting us know which lines were for which talks at the backs of the lines)
- Met some very cool people there, why? Because of the defcon 101 talk. Telling people to break down barriers, put away baggage and assumptions and go out, meet people and have fun set the RIGHT tone. Thanks to the DC101 organizers
- The overflow room for the closing ceremonies ROCKED!! Great idea. Thanks for thinking of those of us that didn't fit in the main room. Since this was a spur of the moment 'kudos' thought, next year maybe put audience facing vid with monitors in the main room so that awardees and recognizees can see our applause and congrats too. THANKS STAFF for setting up the other room.

Bad:
- Fuck it it's defcon if anything was bad, back up regroup, rethink and do something different!! (My way of saying great job to everyone for making it an enjoyable event all around)

[hexjunkie]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

The good:

Talks I hear were awesome
I got a badge with a 10 min wait... Not sure why everyone has problems every year
Tamper evident felt very well thought out.. I cursed more than I spoke English I believe.
The goons did an awesome job... Good looking out on hackerpimps
All of the parties were awesome this year
Thanks to Vegas 2.0 crew for the rocking after parties each night.
All the new people this year
The riv staff seemed more relaxed this year... Either the water system was drugged prior to our arrival or more likely they have finally learned we are weird but mostly better left to police ourselves

The bad:

Credit the closing ceremony felt a bit rushed.. But there is a lot to give credit for... Perhaps starting it earlier next year to keep the end time around the same.
The curly headed dude with the drunk attitude who seems to not be able to control himself... Rapist in the making need not apply.. Dude you are a dick, sober up and take some classes in self control.
The venue was small as usual... Cool we are getting bigger but I hate growing pains... Rumor mill is we are moving next year
I don't think I have the right to speak about this but a particular crew raised a lot of money and got shafted in credit for the amount they raised. Over 1/4 of the 40 grand raised was by them and they got credit for less than 1/8...


All in all it was my best con ever, just a lot of miscommunication. I guess that happens in a con this size.

Special thank you to:

Priest and the security goons for their fast response at hacker pimps
The hackerpimps for a rocking party
The ninja networks crew for their best blowout yet.. I'm not sure how you guys will top next year but I bet you can!
Vegas 2.0 for the summit, the after parties, and everything else you guys do
Team hactar for a great showing this year... We can only get better!
DT for an awesome con and the tamper evident ruled this year
To all the goons that keep the con going
Nakita and little freak for the forum meet... It was fun while I could stay
The DefCon groups like 949 and 303 who make all the fun things at con happen

I'm sure there are more... If I forgot you I am sorry but the last week is a huge blur of fun and excitement.

[kibbey]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

As a noob "lurker", I thought this whole thing was fantastic. Drink a beer while listening to technical talks? Who thought of that? Brilliant. The Dec Vax was great, brought a tear to my eye and a fond memory of days gone by (yeah, I'm kinda old). Great job by everyone involved. I'm already saving for next year.

Thanks!

[astcell]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

Good:
We impressed Priest this year.
The pool was not closed before con ended.
Lots of newbies who had fun.
Rearranged vendor and contest areas.
Mohawk-con.
2nd room for Closing Ceremonies.
Eris and Vandal married at Defcon.
Short registration lines.
Relaxed photo rules.
Ninja Badge.
Secure network available.
Still a good price.

Bad:
Ran out of badges the night before con even started.
New pub's food quality sucks.
Fence around the pool. Presumably to keep out pool2girl.
Roomie bailed.
Seems any idiot can get in to Hacker Jeopardy.

[veruus]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

There are talks? I've been missing out, I guess.

Good:
• PubCon
• old friends
• new friends
• Rio
• mohawks
• 303
• Ninjas (thanks!!)
• Indian food
• many other things which are escaping me at the moment

Bad:
• Not being able to stay a few more days to hang out w/ the stragglers and wind down

Ugly:
• lack of sleep and availability of booze

paint: Glad to hear about the dine and dash jerks being covered. Fuckheads.

[freeman]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

The good:

• me.defcon.org - I love that every year we have more and more technology to play with, even if half the con is too drunk to catch on.
• a lack of shitgeese - While I heard some stories about a few, I met more cool people and less rude/too drunk/socially inept people this year.
• the badge - I'm still tinkering with it and the con is over.
• 40k for the EFF!
• The Riv staff was much more relaxed this year.

The bad:

• Queen Vic was constantly overpacked and impossible to get a beer at times
• Lines! Dear god I thought I was at a waiting in line convention at times. I skipped so many talks because I didnt want to sit out a talk to wait in line for the next.
• The guy asking everyone what was on their shirts, then poking them in the nose.
• Nothing really exciting at the chillout room.
• Everyone else had the same idea about showing up at 8am Thursday to get a badge early, so the line was huge before badges even went on sale.

Overall a damn fine con. Sad I have to wait a whole year for the next one. See you all at the Rio!

[ph0enix]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

*snipped*
The bad:

The curly headed dude with the drunk attitude who seems to not be able to control himself... Rapist in the making need not apply.. Dude you are a dick, sober up and take some classes in self control.

So, we apparently have video and photos of this dude. I think he should be bounced from next years deal, no questions. There were just one too many assaults on different females from this guy, and I don't think the good men behind and attending the convention want to be associated with this assclown.

Should I post his picture publicly, or is there an e-mail address I can send this to? As well, Hex...do you know what his name / handle is? All I know is his first name, which he claimed was Nick.

[hexjunkie]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

So, we apparently have video and photos of this dude. I think he should be bounced from next years deal, no questions. There were just one too many assaults on different females from this guy, and I don't think the good men behind and attending the convention want to be associated with this assclown.

Should I post his picture publicly, or is there an e-mail address I can send this to? As well, Hex...do you know what his name / handle is? All I know is his first name, which he claimed was Nick.

Nick = only name I caught. His new handle shall be Asshole2? has he earned that privlidge?

I do not know if he was even there for the con.. I never saw a badge, he may have just been someone staying at the hotel causing trouble.

I would send something to info@defcon.org and perhaps someone will respond. If no response try DT's e-mail to get permission. If they say post it I'm all for it. I vote to post it with name and I'll start looking for real info on the guy should we be allowed to post it. If he comes back next year I forsee a ban for him on all parties I work the door for.

[P33V3]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

So, we apparently have video and photos of this dude. I think he should be bounced from next years deal, no questions. There were just one too many assaults on different females from this guy, and I don't think the good men behind and attending the convention want to be associated with this assclown.

Should I post his picture publicly, or is there an e-mail address I can send this to? As well, Hex...do you know what his name / handle is? All I know is his first name, which he claimed was Nick.

If you have a picture PM me and I will provide you with an email address you can send it to also if you could tell me the stuff you saw him doing that would help. I will get it to the head of the Security Goons and we will take care of it.

[meethade]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

Good:

* No more room flushing.
* Badges were on time and in plentiful supply, even though they did run out.
* Mohawks
* Lockpicking village
* Hardware hacking village
* Hacker Jeopardy
* Crash and Compile!
* The new wireless network setup

Bad:

* Ran out of badges again
* Talks filled up too quickly
* Lines

It's actually much harder to think of the bad than the good. I guess that is another good thing.

[ph0enix]

Re: DEFCON 18 -- Good v. Bad

Nick = only name I caught. His new handle shall be Asshole2? has he earned that privlidge?

I do not know if he was even there for the con.. I never saw a badge, he may have just been someone staying at the hotel causing trouble.

I would send something to info@defcon.org and perhaps someone will respond. If no response try DT's e-mail to get permission. If they say post it I'm all for it. I vote to post it with name and I'll start looking for real info on the guy should we be allowed to post it. If he comes back next year I forsee a ban for him on all parties I work the door for.

Just so we're clear, are you the dude who was in the pool suite right next to ours? Because your description of Nick the Douchenozzle is very spot-on to what he was doing at the suite(s), and I recall a Hex-something who also went by Sir Cuddles-a-Lot. ;-)

And yes, Nick should get a permanent ban for his behavior, were it up to me.