I am very sorry about hurting some feelings or letting down some friends as I write this. Nico, Dirk, CyFy, and their whole clan of helpers and supporters are great people who are doing good things.
And I can no longer support their event.
At least not in its current form. ROOTZ Asylum was an idea that was always controversial, but the organizers did so much to help adapt and flex and grow with the community in mind. And we appreciated that. This year, however, absolutely all of the concerns and worries that we had voiced in the past were (it felt to me) 100% ignored and all of our fears and foreboding came to fruition.
The biggest two concerns in the past when ROOTZ (back then a.k.a. DEFCON Kids) was being planned were:
1. it will make DEFCON be "more tame" because folk won't get all wild if kids are around
2. it will result in kids who COULD be at DEFCON not going and instead just hanging in this separate room
... these two concerns were mostly allayed by creating a separate track room. Down a side hall slightly, this ROOTZ track was enough of a separation that the kids wouldn't see massive debauchery and nudity during the day and yet they could still visit any other part of DEF CON if they and their parents desired. This last point is the key point.
Certain DEF CON speakers came to their track and give cool presentations, followed by encouragement for the kids to come to the Villages or the Contest areas, etc. The kids were still PART of DEFCON even though they had their own sanctuary area.
This year all of that was thrown out the window.
The ROOTZ Asylum was WAAAY separated from DEFCON proper. It was in a dark theater where the kids were mostly just receiving lectures (from what I saw) as opposed to being directly engaged with cool folks. Every talk and every message was about how following the rules and never breaking the law is paramount and how it's important to only ever be a "white hat hacker" etc etc etc.
I'm willing to bet that less than 10% of any of the kids went over to DEFCON proper. Why would they? It was a bazillion miles away.
Any speakers who were coming FROM the DEFCON area had their schedule blown to hell, as was the case with my TOOOL staff and Howard and I talking about Elevators.
At this point, in its current form, ROOTZ Asylum -- while still doing great things for kids -- is siphoning off energy and people from DEFCON itself. It is siphoning off content and speakers. It is siphoning off attendees (kids and teens who are old enough to walk around DEFCON itself). It is siphoning off and fracturing the energy of the event.
I love the idea of kid-focused cons. I have been to many and supported them. HacKidCon, BeamCamp, etc etc etc. These are all terrific. But if you want to be a 100% separate con, please, you can't take place during the same time as the world's biggest con.
When the TOOOL folk were asked "come and give a talk to the kids" our answer has always been "why don't you just bring the kids HERE to the Village where -- you know -- all the material is already spread out and we're equipped to teach properly".
We have even suggested EXTRA OPERATING HOURS for the Lockpick Village (and we'd encourage the other villages to follow suit) either before normal opening or after we would usually close. As far as I know, ROOTZ has not taken any of the Villages up on this. The always want people to pack up a box of just a few things and cart it over to their room.
This was feasible (if undesirable) when they were a separate track. Now, as a wholly separate event and con, it is just unworkable.
Please, ROOTZ organizers, either bring your event back into the fold of DEFCON overall or schedule it for a totally different time on the calendar.
Again, I am so sorry if these words disappoint people.
And I can no longer support their event.
At least not in its current form. ROOTZ Asylum was an idea that was always controversial, but the organizers did so much to help adapt and flex and grow with the community in mind. And we appreciated that. This year, however, absolutely all of the concerns and worries that we had voiced in the past were (it felt to me) 100% ignored and all of our fears and foreboding came to fruition.
The biggest two concerns in the past when ROOTZ (back then a.k.a. DEFCON Kids) was being planned were:
1. it will make DEFCON be "more tame" because folk won't get all wild if kids are around
2. it will result in kids who COULD be at DEFCON not going and instead just hanging in this separate room
... these two concerns were mostly allayed by creating a separate track room. Down a side hall slightly, this ROOTZ track was enough of a separation that the kids wouldn't see massive debauchery and nudity during the day and yet they could still visit any other part of DEF CON if they and their parents desired. This last point is the key point.
Certain DEF CON speakers came to their track and give cool presentations, followed by encouragement for the kids to come to the Villages or the Contest areas, etc. The kids were still PART of DEFCON even though they had their own sanctuary area.
This year all of that was thrown out the window.
The ROOTZ Asylum was WAAAY separated from DEFCON proper. It was in a dark theater where the kids were mostly just receiving lectures (from what I saw) as opposed to being directly engaged with cool folks. Every talk and every message was about how following the rules and never breaking the law is paramount and how it's important to only ever be a "white hat hacker" etc etc etc.
I'm willing to bet that less than 10% of any of the kids went over to DEFCON proper. Why would they? It was a bazillion miles away.
Any speakers who were coming FROM the DEFCON area had their schedule blown to hell, as was the case with my TOOOL staff and Howard and I talking about Elevators.
At this point, in its current form, ROOTZ Asylum -- while still doing great things for kids -- is siphoning off energy and people from DEFCON itself. It is siphoning off content and speakers. It is siphoning off attendees (kids and teens who are old enough to walk around DEFCON itself). It is siphoning off and fracturing the energy of the event.
I love the idea of kid-focused cons. I have been to many and supported them. HacKidCon, BeamCamp, etc etc etc. These are all terrific. But if you want to be a 100% separate con, please, you can't take place during the same time as the world's biggest con.
When the TOOOL folk were asked "come and give a talk to the kids" our answer has always been "why don't you just bring the kids HERE to the Village where -- you know -- all the material is already spread out and we're equipped to teach properly".
We have even suggested EXTRA OPERATING HOURS for the Lockpick Village (and we'd encourage the other villages to follow suit) either before normal opening or after we would usually close. As far as I know, ROOTZ has not taken any of the Villages up on this. The always want people to pack up a box of just a few things and cart it over to their room.
This was feasible (if undesirable) when they were a separate track. Now, as a wholly separate event and con, it is just unworkable.
Please, ROOTZ organizers, either bring your event back into the fold of DEFCON overall or schedule it for a totally different time on the calendar.
Again, I am so sorry if these words disappoint people.
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