Defcon Wifes Club

[Mike]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

This is smart. The last two times i was in Las Vegas for cons (SANS and BH07 / DC15), i brought my wife along. She hung out around the hotel pool, slept late, played blackjack, etc, while i was in class / watching presentations. But here's the thing -- next year, she wants to come to Defcon too. Not as a "wife-badger" but as a full-fledged attendee.

So encouraging spouses to come along and hang out outside Defcon one year could lead to them shelling out $100 the following year.

[Chris]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

I'd think twice about that ... it could attract an undertone of folks that come without any interest in talks, have the side effect of major annoyance on goons guarding talk doors, and otherwise just be more admin overhead. On top you start parcelling portions of Defcon instead of the conference as a whole; something that could be quite a slippery slope toward the 'experience' guarantee tards.

Nicely intended idea, but definitely logistical issues. Now.. a method for the DisCon Tent to identify club members.. that could be done via badge, sticker, rubber stamp to the forehead...

Yeah...you are probably right. It isn't like $100 is a ridiculously high admission price anyway, especially considering what you get for it. Move along...my idea sucked.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

personally, i'd think it hilarious if a small run of hot pink "scenewhore" badges were produced that would be equal on paper to "human" ones in terms of cost, privileges etc. wonder how many folks would ask for them as opposed to "human" ones. of that group, how many would be asking ironically versus actually wanting to proclaim oneself a defcon groupie?

[TheCotMan]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

personally, i'd think it hilarious if a small run of hot pink "scenewhore" badges were produced that would be equal on paper to "human" ones in terms of cost, privileges etc. wonder how many folks would ask for them as opposed to "human" ones. of that group, how many would be asking ironically versus actually wanting to proclaim oneself a defcon groupie?

There would be advantages to having a "SceneWhore" Badge, as people would likely not ask you questions. On the other hand, it might be more difficult to score access to parties.

[Chris]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

There would be advantages to having a "SceneWhore" Badge, as people would likely not ask you questions. On the other hand, it might be more difficult to score access to parties.

Errr....I bet the opposite. You walk in with a scenewhore badge I bet you get in to all the parties.

[mfreeck]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

Errr....I bet the opposite. You walk in with a scenewhore badge I bet you get in to all the parties.

Depends if you have penis or boobs. Wonder what happens if you have both?

[TheCotMan]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

Errr....I bet the opposite. You walk in with a scenewhore badge I bet you get in to all the parties.

Me? Naw. To have a party bouncer let a scenewhore into a party, weighing the "do-ability" of the scenewhore in question would be part of the equation. They'd take one look at me and say something like, "Obviously you aren't smart enough to be a Human, but your are not pretty (or handsome) enough to be a scenewhore at this party. Why don't you go over to the Alexis Park? They have a place for you at Pool 2."

Depends if you have penis or boobs. Wonder what happens if you have both?

Since you were replying to Chris, I am guessing that the "you" you are referring to is Chris. So, are you asking if Chris had boobs and a penis, and was a scenewhore, what would the outcome be?

Dang. That is a ballsy question to ask Chris. I don't think I would even try asking him that.

Prodigy: "I'm a fire starter" ... "troublemaker" ... "Instigator." Heh-heh. ]:>

[DJ Jackalope]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

You guys rock, its nice having a good snicker before I go to sleep.

Maybe ask the scenewhores for "Papers Please" on their med records...

[shrdlu]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

This is smart. The last two times i was in Las Vegas for cons (SANS and BH07 / DC15), i brought my wife along. She hung out around the hotel pool, slept late, played blackjack, etc, while i was in class / watching presentations. But here's the thing -- next year, she wants to come to Defcon too. Not as a "wife-badger" but as a full-fledged attendee.

So encouraging spouses to come along and hang out outside Defcon one year could lead to them shelling out $100 the following year.

Not picking on you personally, but let me just say how truly insulting this is, both to the women who come to defcon in their own right, and to spouses in general that are able to provide their own entertainment without needing hand holding. If the original post had just used (or misused, actually, since the word is wives, not wifes) the word the once, it would have been annoying, but the original post went on and on.

There are plenty of couples that come to defcon where both people have their own interests. You don't have to have the security skills to appreciate Richard Thieme or Jennifer Grannick, you just need to be smart. My daughter's been to more defcons than several of you in this thread, and while she has some serious skills, they don't involve programming.

If you want to bring along your spouse, and they aren't interested in the con, fine, but let's not make this a family show. Vegas already tried that, and it sucked. Either make plans to spend time with them outside of the con, or leave them at home, but lets not be planning the entertainment, here.

[Mike]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

Why are you assuming my wife wouldn't be interested in the content of the conference? That's precisely why she wants to come next year. My point was that other SOs who come by, get pulled in by the halo effect, pick up the conference booklet and flip through it, etc, might realize that they too have an actual legitimate interest in what goes on inside. Not some watered-down, family-style Camp Defcon, but the actual real thing.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

...but lets not be planning the entertainment, here.

Yes, I know I am taking this out of context, but please bear with me.

Boombox and were in Las Vegas for 7 days, and visited several shows. There was a thread here where people discussed non-defcon entertainment to enjoy before and after defcon. I learned about the Pinball Museum and the Atomic Testing Museum as a result of discussions about non-defcon entertainment.

I realize your comment seemed to be within the scope of, "entertainment for other people not affiliated with defcon," but I wanted to show how generic non-defcon entertainment discussions informed me about the Atomic Testing Museum that I did visit this year.

Perhaps people disinterested in Defcon share similar interests. I have no experience with the population or elemental count of intersected interests between non-Defcon people during defcon, but I can say that with many Defcon people there are shared interests in non-defcon items. (Penn and Teller for example.) Is it possible that NotDefcon people will share non-Defcon interests? Sure. How many intersections exist with count of elements close to count of element in NotDefcon people, I have no idea.

[shrdlu]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

Yes, I know I am taking this out of context, but please bear with me.

Hey, I know what you're trying to say here, but it's diagonal to the point I was making. I object to the idea that we'd making some sort of event for spouses, of any persuasion. I'm still trying to get over the sour taste of someone looking for entertainment for the little woman. It's just so damned condescending. It may not have been the intent, but there it is.

On the one hand, it's good for us all to broaden our horizons now and then. It's good to get out and see other things than just the con (although I'd rather see outdoor stuff than the sights of vegas, such as they are).

On the other, there's no good thing that can come out of trying to provide entertainment for people who are wanting attention from attendees without finding entertainment within defcon itself. Feh. I'm just rambling, and trying to juggle too many things at once right this minute, but I think you still get the drift.

[TheCotMan]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

Hey, I know what you're trying to say here, but it's diagonal to the point I was making. I object to the idea that we'd making some sort of event for spouses, of any persuasion. I'm still trying to get over the sour taste of someone looking for entertainment for the little woman. It's just so damned condescending. It may not have been the intent, but there it is.

On the one hand, it's good for us all to broaden our horizons now and then. It's good to get out and see other things than just the con (although I'd rather see outdoor stuff than the sights of vegas, such as they are).

On the other, there's no good thing that can come out of trying to provide entertainment for people who are wanting attention from attendees without finding entertainment within defcon itself. Feh. I'm just rambling, and trying to juggle too many things at once right this minute, but I think you still get the drift.

Ahhhh. Yes. Sorry about that. I was reading something totally different in your reply, and didn't get this. Thanks for clarifying.

Now I think I understand where you were going.

[Schuyler]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

I understand where you're going, but I believe you're demonizing a good idea.

Here's my perspective:
My "little woman" is far and away the most supportive person in my life in regard to anything, but specifically locksport (which is what lands me at DEFCON) and I desperately wanted her to be with me this year and plan to bring her next year. It would make my year for her to attend my talk, or watch me compete in the skillz competition, or be up in the LPV picking alongside me.

When we come back next year, we're definitely getting her a badge so she can do all those things. We'll also plan some time before or after the Con to visit vegas and see what there is to see. That said?

DEFCON IS 3 DAYS LONG!

And she has other interests, unrelated to locksport, unrelated to anything at defcon. Aside from the specific in-con events, and maybe meals, we'll be apart for the better part of the weekend. Las Vegas, by yourself, can be a wicked lonely place. I think the idea of having a spouse/significant other-led subforum where they can have the option of planning or participating in outside-of-con events, like catching a matinée or going gambling as a group, is entirely valid.

When any of us walks in to DC, we suddenly have 10,000 friends excited to geek-out with us for 3 days, and while I've always found the LP community extremely welcoming and I'm sure the hacker community is as well, you KNOW that if you weren't either raised in that culture or share the common interests, you walk in to con basically alone.

I don't know why you have such a problem with TW's suggestion of a spouse-LED group, providing an option for people. This doesn't preclude anyone from showing up to DC instead of wandering the strip. It doesn't keep anyone from providing their own entertainment.

And it isn't condescending. It's polite. It's TW trying to make sure our shared community provides space for anyone connected to it.

I think it's a great idea.

[Mel]

Re: Defcon Wifes Club

WifeCon 2008