Toorcon

[nulltone]

So, how was toorcon? I was not able to go, but some people who attended should post a recap here.

[noid]

As I've said to everyone thats asked, if you missed toorcon, you missed out. I really enjoy that convention. Its small, very friendly, and in one of the best climates in America. Saw some good talks, went to a good party, and met a lot of cool people.

[nulltone]

What could Defcon X learn from toorcon? Doing back to the basics maybe?

[gemikit]

Great conference

I thought Toorcon was pretty good. Very informative all around the board...even if some of the speakers couldn't show due to early Septembers events.

[nulltone]

Were a lot of talks cancled because speakers did not show? Or did they not even plan it, because they knew they were busy?

[gemikit]

Not a lot...

There were around three or four talks/sessions were cancelled due to people having to stay in NY to take care of their business up there, etc. The fed session was canceled because the feds have other matters to take care of.

[nulltone]

Oh, toorcon was AFTER Sept. 11th. Thats a damn shame. At least it was not cancelled, like lots of other things.

[gemikit]

I'm glad it wasn't canceled too. Even if it was the first event that I went to where I had to hear an evacuation plan in case of a terrorist threat...

[nulltone]

So, what does Toorcon have that Defcon doesn't have? What can Defcon X learn from Toorcon 2001?

[noid]

So, what does Toorcon have that Defcon doesn't have? What can Defcon X learn from Toorcon 2001?

Actualy its the opposite..its what Toorcon dosent have that Defcon does have..too many people...You cant really compare the two conventions because while they are both hacker conventions, they're really on two different levels. Toorcon 2k++ had the same feel as Defcon 2 or 3..Once Toorcon starts drawing Defcon 8 or 9 sized crowds, they'll be having the same issues we do. Sadly, theres nothing the organizers can really do to control the size of the convention unless you want to do something like the old 'invite only' SummerCons..Problem with doing the invite only con tho is in this day and age by not allowing anyone to show up you imediately cast suspicion upon yourself..why cant the media be there? what are you doing? That and with how interconnected the underground has become, you certainly can't keep it a secret. So, for now, Toorcon should enjoy their small turn out and hope that they dont become 'The Next Big Thing' for a while.

[nulltone]

I see. Hrm. Well I guess this means I will defiently go to the next toorcon (Its also really close, thats cool)

Damn, I wish I could have made it to the first two. = /

[rudeboy]

ToorCon

I agree with noid about ToorCon, it was more like DefCon 2 or 3. I really think that one of the reasons DefCon is so huge now is that it has been so accomodating to the attendees. All the additions that make it convenient or fun for those who are not in infosec or the media.

One major difference at ToorCon was that the con was NOT at a hotel. It was near a hotel, but not AT a hotel. The point being that if DefCon was not held at a hotel, people would need to make their own arrangements and DT would not have to arrange extra security with the hotel management. Basically it would be like distributed storage for attendees.

Secondly all of the rave stuff. I am not against raves or anything, and have even been to a few. In my opinion it doesn't belong. There were some booths at ToorCon, but mostly just many of the machines I saw hawked at DefCon.

I digress. This year was my first year to ToorCon and I loved it. The keynote from Simple Nomad was on point and splendid. I actually hoped that it would have been even slightly bigger than it was believe it or not. I think there is an ideal size for cons like this and while DefCon is way too big, ToorCon seemed just a little small.

See you in SD next year.

[Xp0nential]

woohoo

"Secondly all of the rave stuff. I am not against raves or anything, and have even been to a few. In my opinion it doesn't belong. There were some booths at ToorCon, but mostly just many of the machines I saw hawked at DefCon. "

AMEN TO THAT!

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"Everything that's countable doesn't necessarily count. What counts isn't necessarily countable"
Albert Einstein