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A proposal for what to do with the extra space this year: DEF CON Assemblies
The inspiration for this comes from the Chaos Communication Congress in Germany (see their Call For Assemblies here). My understanding is that they've long been in more traditional convention centers like the LVCC. What do you do with a big open space with no airwalls? Cram a bunch of different groups together! DEF CON already does this with several contests (and previously tossed in some villages as well in Bally's), but it would be cool to expand it to other non-commercial, self-organized groups wanting a space to hang out and show off or offer something cool to the community.
What would that look like? You could think of it as a generalization of villages and contests. Not every assembly might have a hands-on activity or a contest, but they should have something to contribute, even if it's their own presence -- or at least something to gawk at.
Some potential assemblies:
Potential complications:
The inspiration for this comes from the Chaos Communication Congress in Germany (see their Call For Assemblies here). My understanding is that they've long been in more traditional convention centers like the LVCC. What do you do with a big open space with no airwalls? Cram a bunch of different groups together! DEF CON already does this with several contests (and previously tossed in some villages as well in Bally's), but it would be cool to expand it to other non-commercial, self-organized groups wanting a space to hang out and show off or offer something cool to the community.
What would that look like? You could think of it as a generalization of villages and contests. Not every assembly might have a hands-on activity or a contest, but they should have something to contribute, even if it's their own presence -- or at least something to gawk at.
Some potential assemblies:
- DEF CON Groups
- Hackerspaces
- Hacker collectives (e.g., cDc)
- Artist collectives / installations / experiences
- Badge enthusiast hangout and repair area
- Fundraisers (mohawks, etc.)
- Contests that run continuously (e.g., CTF, Tin Foil Hat, Scavenger Hunt, etc.)
- Villages with hands-on content (e.g., lockpick, tamper evident, car hacking, hardware hacking, soldering skills, etc.)
- Themed areas (c.f., Beerocracy at Toorcamp, where you go on a paperwork quest)
- A post office? (c.f., Chaos Post, Black Rock City International Post Office)
- Food, venue permitting (c.f., Milliways, a Waffle Operations Center, etc.)
- Media (streaming spaces, interview areas, DCTV, soma.fm... Maybe some zines??)
- Chill spaces, blanket forts, etc.
- A DEFCOIN bazaar
- Groups that might otherwise be holed up in suites, like Whisky Pirates or other badgemakers
- Areas for shared interests (e.g., puzzle solving, retrocomputing, etc.)
- A phone company to connect all the assemblies?? (As part of Shadytel, I am somewhat biased)
Potential complications:
- Decisions around "content creator" badges
- The venue closing between 2:30 AM and 8 AM. Assemblies would either need to load in/out every day or potentially require DEF CON to provide expanded security.
- LVCC rules, especially around food and drinks
- Union rules (this got bad enough that the National Association of Broadcasters Show had to get a special exemption allowing broadcast equipment vendors to install and operate their own equipment!)
- Nevada law, especially around "event promoters" and sales/use tax obligations
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