Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

[TheCotMan]

Welcome BBox as the organizer for the Defcon 19 Forum meet.

I am closing the old thread on a need for a leader, because one has been selected.

Thanks and good luck BBox!

[DiscipleOfJude]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

Welcome BBox as the organizer for the Defcon 19 Forum meet.

I am closing the old thread on a need for a leader, because one has been selected.

Thanks and good luck BBox!

So I am more of a lurker than a poster, and have never been to a forum meet. But I think I am going to whip up an interesting badge and see you all there! Looking forward to it.

[sintax_error]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

Thanks for stepping up and donating your time/resources, BBox. See you in Vegas.

[Bbox]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

Sintax error, Thanks for the kind words. I am looking forward to seeing you at the Meet!

So I am more of a lurker than a poster, and have never been to a forum meet. But I think I am going to whip up an interesting badge and see you all there! Looking forward to it.

DiscipleOfJude,

I know exactly what you are saying I was a lurker forever also. I believe there are lots more like us out here.

I know the forum is different things to different people and there are many different opinions and schools of thought on what the forums should be. In my perception, for a long time I believed the forums were mostly for long time Con goers who knew each other well and had inside jokes and stories that excluded me from participating.

I eventually learned that that was "MY PERCEPTION" not necessarily reality. If I posted and had something of interest to others, people would reply. If I said something stupid then they would not. It's not much different than a conversation face to face. If its interesting and engaging it's a good conversation.

That said I personally would like to see the forums have more active participants and see new people participate in discussions not just the "old timers"

I also realize that many of us out here are sarcastic and can sometimes unintentionally seem un-inviting. I hope that our forum meet this year can not only be a great place for active people to meet but also an open environment to let others know the forum is a great opportunity to enjoy Defcon year round.

Below is a sort of "mission statement" I am kicking around. (let the snickering begin)

A gathering welcoming All the Defcon community (security, hackers, hacktivists, privacy pros, and newbies) to understand the Defcon experience does not end after the Con, it lives year round online at the Forum.

The event will be a place for Forum Members to Meet & Talk "in Real Life" and put a face with the words they read all year long on the Defcon Forums. This will be a casual event that will allow existing Forum Members to renew friendships at the same time allowing people new to the forums to make new acquaintances and friendships.
It will offer first time Con goers an opportunity to meet, talk and ask questions of experienced con goers in a friendly non intimidating environment.

[HighWiz]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

in a friendly non intimidating environment.

I don't know... Roamer, AlxRogan & Thorn can be pretty intimidating.... And Lockheed is definitely intimidating.


Bbox: Were you at the forum meet, last year (or previous years)?

[Bbox]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

I don't know... Roamer, AlxRogan & Thorn can be pretty intimidating.... And Lockheed is definitely intimidating.

That's why I will be there with a welcoming smile and polite conversation!

Bbox: Were you at the forum meet, last year (or previous years)?

Unfortunately not. I am embarrassed to admit I was either not able to locate you all or maybe I was too intimidated to say hello.

[HighWiz]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

That's why I will be there with a welcoming smile and polite conversation!

So are you going to set a hard time for when you want people to be there for "introductions" or is it more of a "as everyone comes in, everyone intro's themselves again"?

Unfortunately not. I am embarrassed to admit I was either not able to locate you all or maybe I was too intimidated to say hello.

DefCon at large, like the forum meet, can be intimidating. As you've said before, some of the people (the "old timers" as you called them) know each other very well, and many are skeptical of new people. So it can be very difficult for new people not to feel out of place or as "one of the group". It's further exacerbated by the fact that many of the long time con-goers only see each other during DefCon, so they tend to spend a significant amount of time in only associating with them at events like the forum meet.

I don't envy you, as you have to find the happy medium between engaging the new people while not turning off the "old timers". Further the matter of dealing with largely different personality types, from a lurker who may be a total introvert to someone like Siviak who is on the extreme side of an extrovert.

You got your work cut out for you.. So I wish you the best of luck.

[RCon]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

Thanks for doing this Bbox. I can hardly wait for the meet this year, I had a blast at the last one met a lot of cool people. I’m still lulzing over the whole BeautifulHacker sighting.

Quick question, It’s probably too early but do you have any idea what your stance on booze at the meet will be?

[Bbox]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

So are you going to set a hard time for when you want people to be there for "introductions" or is it more of a "as everyone comes in, everyone intro's themselves again"?

At this point (very preliminary) I don't envision a "hard time" to make introductions. I actually think a fairly short 2 to 3 hour max event is best. I truly want the experienced forum members to be comfortable to show and enjoy their time with the friends they have made over the years and not feel obligated to make small talk or be bothered by someone they may never see again. I would love it if they at least made an effort to include some people they may have seen around the Con in past years but may not have attended forum meets or someone who has a Avatar badge that they recognize. Even better if they include more people, but no pressure or obligation to do so.

On the other hand I hope between myself, some others I know from previous years, some "old timers" willing to expand their group and other newbies to the forum meet we can be welcoming and become friends with the newer people. Basically we will create the next generation of Forum dwellers that will become a small (or large) group of friends. Hopefully as the years go on between "IRL" community events and online forum interaction there will become more interaction between the forum generations and we will become more of a blend. There will always be an evolution of people and ideas, If we don't evolve we become extinct.

I hope I was somewhat clear. often It's harder to put words to the thoughts.

When I was young a new store opened called Barneys. They gave out buttons that said just looking. Their intent was to get people in their stores without the fear of being bothered by sales people. It worked and they became very successful. Maybe I will have buttons that say Hello on one side and say something like Catch ya Later on the other. When you're willing to talk to anyone, you flip it to Hello. When you just want to speak with people you know, you flip it to catch ya later.

Maybe that could be close to the best of both worlds.

You got your work cut out for you.. So I wish you the best of luck.

I appreciate it, I am sure I will need it. All I can promise is I will be giving my best effort!

[Bbox]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

Thanks for doing this Bbox. I can hardly wait for the meet this year, I had a blast at the last one met a lot of cool people. I’m still lulzing over the whole BeautifulHacker sighting.

Quick question, It’s probably too early but do you have any idea what your stance on booze at the meet will be?

I have no doubt that alcohol will be present. However it should not be the primary reason for attending this event.

I am a huge believer in live and let live. If someone wants to drink, have at it. If someone does not, Don't! My concept is this should be an enjoyable Meet & Greet. It is a great opportunity to find likeminded individuals and maybe even lifelong friends. I hope people will leave in groups to explore common interests further.

Part of my responsibility is to make sure Defcon Rules are followed and no one is doing anything that could put Defcon in jeopardy. No underage drinking and no one being abusive to others. I cannot stop someone from being a Douche but I can surely stop them from bothering others.

RCon, I look forward to meeting you and hopefully you will help make this year as much fun as the last. Can you tell me what you thought made last year great?

All input is greatly appreciated.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

I have no doubt that alcohol will be present. However it should not be the primary reason for attending this event.
...
All input is greatly appreciated.

You should probably field a question to Nikita on this. At the Riviera, I think there were issues with having bar service for a room meeting, which required people be carded and may have raised a requirement for people to be carded at the door for 21 or older. My memory is fuzzy on this, but I think Nikita brought this up as something that influenced the decision on having the hotel provide booze, a bar, or bar service.

This is the Rio, so the micro-feature diffs and rule-set will likely be different. Nikita is your best partner to let you know what resources from Defcon and the Rio are available, and what opportunity costs exist when choosing to use any resource that is available. I think she requested contact by email, and NOT forum PM. It is a good idea to accede to these requests when you desire quick results and wish to resolve issues without causing more confusion or stress.

[RCon]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

I have no doubt that alcohol will be present. However it should not be the primary reason for attending this event.

I am a huge believer in live and let live. If someone wants to drink, have at it. If someone does not, Don't! My concept is this should be an enjoyable Meet & Greet. It is a great opportunity to find likeminded individuals and maybe even lifelong friends. I hope people will leave in groups to explore common interests further.

Part of my responsibility is to make sure Defcon Rules are followed and no one is doing anything that could put Defcon in jeopardy. No underage drinking and no one being abusive to others. I cannot stop someone from being a Douche but I can surely stop them from bothering others.

Don’t get me wrong here, I wasn’t trying to suggest this be a everyone show up to party and not interact in the way the meet is intended sort of thing.

I was asking because like TheCotMan said, last year a no shared booze policy was in place. “Though that line did get a little fuzzy later on.” And I wanted to think a few of the people I met last year, and I figured bringing booze would be the best way to do it, but only if the policy wasn’t still in place.

RCon, I look forward to meeting you and hopefully you will help make this year as much fun as the last. Can you tell me what you thought made last year great?

A few things in my opinion made the meet great. Firstly I’d like to say that I lurk and as a lurker I was a little worried that I wouldn’t fit in, but the introduce yourself segment in the beginning really helped break the ice.

Another thing was the atmosphere everything was very chill, no loud music lots of places to sit and talk.

Lastly the mini games were fun, the DefCon trivia for example even if it was your first con there was a lot to be learned.

Hope this helps,

-rCON

[DiscipleOfJude]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

A few things in my opinion made the meet great. Firstly I’d like to say that I lurk and as a lurker I was a little worried that I wouldn’t fit in, but the introduce yourself segment in the beginning really helped break the ice.

Not going to lie. As a lurker, that is exactly the impression I had about attending last year (my first defcon). The impression still lingers for me this year, but I am going to show up anyway.

So I think an ice breaker and something like the mini games sounds like a great thing.

Let me know if you need any help with anything, and I will lend a hand.

-doj

[HighWiz]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

I think she requested contact by email, and NOT forum PM.

That's a filthy lie, she only wants to be contact via PM.

A few things in my opinion made the meet great. Firstly I’d like to say that I lurk and as a lurker I was a little worried that I wouldn’t fit in, but the introduce yourself segment in the beginning really helped break the ice.

Another thing was the atmosphere everything was very chill, no loud music lots of places to sit and talk.

Those were two of the best things last year. The generally calm atmosphere and the fact that I can finally put faces to names/handles.

Part of my responsibility is to make sure Defcon Rules are followed and no one is doing anything that could put Defcon in jeopardy. No underage drinking and no one being abusive to others. I cannot stop someone from being a Douche but I can surely stop them from bothering others.

There should be more than enough goons in the room throughout the event, that, if someone is really bothering someone else you can ask them to do something, lest you end up putting yourself in a difficult position.

Not going to lie. As a lurker, that is exactly the impression I had about attending last year (my first defcon). The impression still lingers for me this year, but I am going to show up anyway.

Good, much like I encourage all newbie hackers at DefCon (new and old) to come to dc101. All forum lurkers should come to the forum meet, you'll enjoy it...

At the very least, your chances of being flamed on the forum (usually) go down significantly if people have met you in person at con.

You also may find, if you actually talk to the more frequent posters/admins/moderators, you yourself will be more inclined to post more often. Unless you talk to Chris and you decide you don't want to return to DefCon, at all.

[Thorn]

Re: Forum Meet organizer selected: BBox

At the very least, your chances of being flamed on the forum (usually) go down significantly if people have met you in person at con.

Wait a minute... You flamed me more, AFTER we met!

You also may find, if you actually talk to the more frequent posters/admins/moderators, you yourself will be more inclined to post more often.

Moderators? Those sumbitches actually show up?