Hackers sure love their cons. \u00a0And their mini-cons within cons. \u00a0So much so, that the term “con” became\u00a0impossibly\u00a0over-used in the very early 21st century. \u00a0The lockpicking\u00a0gathering at DEFCON and elsewhere wasn’t the “Lockpick Village” yet, it was LP-CON. \u00a0Getting your hair clipped by the badasses in a corner at the 303 party? \u00a0That’s “Mohawk Con” you’ve just attended. \u00a0Joining\u00a0a bunch of folk together for sashimi and nigiri and maki? “When and where is SushiCon?” you would ask GM1. (Or SmooshiCon, heh, if you were in D.C. in early February)<\/p>\n
OK, so, truth be told… some of these events were not “cons” in any real sense. \u00a0They didn’t charge for\u00a0admission, they didn’t have badges, and –perhaps most of all– they didn’t run concurrent to an entire other con’s duration.<\/p>\n
This may be one of the biggest questions and concerns that arise every time someone advances the idea for something “new” at DEFCON or any of the other important hacker events around the country and around the world. \u00a0Is this new idea something that will add<\/em> to the overall energy and vibrance of the event? \u00a0Or will it dilute<\/em> the energy and ultimately pull people in other directions as opposed to bringing them together?<\/p>\n Many times, the strongest and most passionate voices on topics such as this speak out when the “new idea” pertains to people who don’t feel central to the hacker world. \u00a0Groups who either perceive themselves to be not a good fit for DEFCON \/ ShmooCon \/ HOPE \/ etc and their friends\/family\/parents will sometimes suggest a side event in order to bolster inclusion or otherwise “ease” people’s access to this scene. \u00a0Instead of being met with support in all instances, however,\u00a0there are many times when criticism and perhaps even outright derision have ensued.<\/p>\n While I find myself having difficulty nailing down the right words to express all of my views on this topic, I feel it’s an important area of discussion. \u00a0A\u00a0number of us have diligently been kicking this topic around on Twitter, but being limited to 140 characters and spread across a number of time zones hasn’t led to the deepest and most meaningful\u00a0dialog. \u00a0So I’m just going to lay down my beliefs here for a bit and then let others chime in…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Side Event vs Side Track vs Off-Site vs Brief Gathering<\/strong><\/p>\n Perhaps the most substantial way in which people planning a new event can disagree (both with each other and also with the existing community) can bear on the duration and location of their NewIdea-Con. \u00a0Best tip from me? \u00a0If you can’t deeply<\/em> justify a reason for pulling people and energy away from the main con, err on the side of “nearby” and “brief”<\/p>\n Many things that have been dubbed with the suffix “-Con” are little more than meetups, frankly. \u00a0Two\u00a0great examples are QueerCon\u00a0&\u00a0DEAF CON. \u00a0QueerCon has historically been a party that takes place one evening, and it was at the DEFCON hotel as frequently as it has been offsite. \u00a0DEAF CON, the Deaf and HoH hacker meetup, takes place chiefly in the chillout area on one or two afternoons for an hour or so. \u00a0Similar events (without the name “con” attached) are the Military Veterans’ Meetup and the Podcasters’ Meetup.<\/p>\n In all of these cases, there has been utterly no avenue to criticize the organizers for “pulling folk away from the main conference” substantially. \u00a0And yet, while the “meetup” segments themselves are just an hour or two, in many ways these side events reward the participants for the whole main con itself<\/em>. \u00a0They do so by enriching those people’s overall con experience (as in, these participants spend 90% or more of their time at the main event, not a side event) and helping them make new connections while still attending and experiencing much of the rest of the main con.<\/p>\n Happenings and gatherings that have attracted\u00a0greater criticism, however, tend to be ones which are of longer duration or appear to be exclusive in some manner. \u00a0Two examples here are DEFCON Kids (now sometimes known as ROOTZ) and various Wives \/ Significant Others tracks.<\/p>\n DEFCON Kids was\u00a0proposed as a means to offer greater options for inclusion of teens and even younger folk at DEFCON who might not otherwise be allowed to wander around by their parents. \u00a0Almost immediately, however, the DC Forums lit up with a cacophony of protest and howls of criticism by old-timers, even while others spoke up defending the idea.<\/p>\n “There are already plenty of things for kids to do at DEFCON!” said those of us who organize events suitable for all-ages.<\/p>\n “But I don’t want my kids seeing drunks puking and waving dicks around!” replied concerned parents.<\/p>\n “If we start to make DEFCON sanitized\u00a0for the kids, then pretty soon I won’t be able to smoke and curse even!” responded the most bacchanal among us.<\/p>\n “Look, this is happening. \u00a0Get on board with it because we’re trying it out!” said DT, preventing further roadblocks.<\/p>\n Heh, ok… so virtually none of the conversation went like that, really. \u00a0I’m over-generalizing a LOT and using much hyperbole. \u00a0But to hear people\u00a0recount the arguments made by others<\/em> you’d think that some of the above sentiments were truly being expressed.<\/p>\n I can only speak for my personal experience, so here it is…<\/p>\n I run the Lockpick Village with the rest of the TOOOL staff at events like DEFCON. \u00a0We, too, were sometimes the subject of concern that “we occupy a lot of space and take up loads of people’s time” etc etc. \u00a0We have generally countered the strongest criticism by pointing out that there aren’t hard time requirements for participation in our area and that folk can wander in and out virtually whenever without missing out on anything here or at the rest of the main con. \u00a0Also, we repeatedly resist<\/em> offers of greater space and chances to extend our operating hours, in order to encourage people to NOT sit with us the whole weekend.<\/p>\n Now, when DEFCON Kids was created, Nico and her staff (side note – i adore Nico and think she’s great. \u00a0Her daughter, CyFi, kicks ass\u00a0and their motivation for all this was good and came with the best of intentions) they approached us and said, “Can you send one of your people our way and give a lockpicking talk in our side track room?”<\/p>\n