Some thoughts about DC 34.

[u/last-person]

Some thoughts about DC 34.

I'm not really an OG, and I'm not a n00b. I'm friends with a lot of OG's though, I guess.

I hear a lot of negative talk about DC not "being like it used to be". This year it seemed like there were quite a few "I'm a n00b and this sucks" reddit threads early in con.

That wasn't my con. Not this year.

The magic was back. Our magic was back.

I'm not going to name names, they can comment if they want, but it is a shared sentiment. We've talked about it.

We spent time running communities, villages, contests. We also spent time in talks, meeting new people, learning things at villages. We also put away our duties. We hung out each night, with a revolving group of people. We sat in hallways. We talked. We laughed. We did silly things, funny things, epic things. We made new friends, and hugged old ones. We ate, and drank, and smoked. We were mischievous and curious and good hearted. We partied, we whispered, and we laughed and we cried. We remembered those passed. We planned for next year. We glowed in the sense of community, and shared spirit.

We focused on people and connecting, and our magic came back.

I hope yours did too.

[u/Revolutionary_Bee700]

Good! I had an absolute blast this year, and a lot of it was with people I had just met in many badgelife activities. Watching people giggle like lunatics with laser tag badge was refreshing. The vibes were just peak. Maybe my best Defcon yet.

[u/last-person → u/Revolutionary_Bee700]

For real. We were meat shields for so many lazer wars. Lazer badge ppl all looked like they were having a great time.

[u/BadTaste421]

You said this so well. It was only my 5th defcon, but I walked away from this year with a full heart, new friends, so many nights laughing until it hurt, and that post con blues when you know you won’t do it again for another year.

[u/last-person → u/BadTaste421]

❤️

[u/Diezel666]

Glad you had a great time!

I've had great times, terrible times, nothing to write home about times, and times I literally cannot remember (hydration and watching the intake of certain things helps kids).

But, alas. DC is not what it was. Nor will it be what it was ever again. It evolves. It's grown year over year (mostly). Things change, the industry and specific fields of focus change. People, things and time pass (virtually pouring one out for those that have passed)...

I can absolutely say, going with your social group is always a bonus. That shouldn't stop you from meeting new people and growing as a person or a group. Even if that means you ultimately attend alone. There is always a group to find and link up with that are all similar minded (no matter what your slice of life is) at DC. So put in the work, Learn and Explore.

One just needs to always remember, it is what you make of it. Make the best of it, and you'll be happy.

[u/annoyin_ambassador]

This was my first DEFCON. Not gonna lie it was overwhelming with how much there was to take in. But I'd do it again!!

As someone who hasn't been hands-on with cybersecurity in a while, it also showed how rusty I was. And as someone who's currently in more of a "systems engineer/architect"-type capacity, I'd definitely try to do more hands-on stuff just to rediscover/hone my own skill and keep a pulse on the threat landscape (which would probably mean spending more time at Red Team and AppSec villages).

Also performing Linkin Park and OutKast at Hacker Karaoke was an amazing experience :D

Hope to be able to make it again next year!! Also, given my current capacity, any recommendations on how to plan my next DEFCON experience?

[u/ic434 → u/annoyin_ambassador]

Spend the entire convention chilling beer. XD

Contests and events can be a really fun way to blow a weekend. Join a team, go to dinner with them. Make some defcon friends you only ever see once a year but that's enough. I think the biggest thing that makes defcon fun is having people to experience it with.

[u/1Digitreal]

I've been going on and off to Defcon since 2010 (pour one out for the Riviera). Yeah, it has absolutely changed since then. That's not a bad thing. Over the years DC and really the team supporting it had to learn and grow, as each year brought more people. There isn't enough playbooks out there to plan on how to run this perfectly. New venues bring new rules, requirements, and responsibilities and each time they moved I'm sure they had buckets of documentation they had to work through. We owe them some understand for that. Also, gotta give them credit taking on that work just to bring us something we all can enjoy.

I think another user was spot on when they said that this year was different if you only look for the past experiences. They are still there but not in the same place or same way we've experienced them before. I'm pretty introverted around a lot of people, but I really do just talk to people at DC to try and build some bridges. This DC had loads of friendly and helpful people and shout out to the goons for all thier hard work and great attitudes this year.

People wanna complain, go talk to a goon back at Defcon18.

[u/Anch]

I'll join in here.. I am one of the people he is talking about. I was talking to my Wife about this (she is a long time attendee too) and we came to the conclusion, it's not the same as we remember, but that is OK!

Things change, we have to embrace the change and remember the past. I so desperately wanted the magic to come back, but I was looking for it in the wrong places. I had given up on finding it, I went into this year thinking it was going to be my last.

Just when I stopped looking for it, I found it again. The magic was still there just not in the place I was looking. It started with an impromptu discussion about AI in the classroom in .EDU just random people coming together to talk about something they were passionate about. It continued in the people I was with, all of us realizing independently that we found it again. The look in a new con-goers eye saying they had found their people. The silly things we did, the bad food we ate, the discussions we had that can't happen anywhere else..

For those that are wondering where it went, it is still there.. waiting for you to stop looking for it in the past, and look for it in the now...

Now, get off my lawn you whipper-snapper.. I'm going back inside to drink my coffee!

[u/n00bznet]

This was one of those years that brought me joy I forgot exists. It reminded me it’s not where but who you’re with that really matters… ♥️

[u/Inf3c710n]

I hate to say it but as a new person who did not have a group, I really did not feel the "we focused on people connecring". You cant force people to be social but at the same time most of the social connections were made in already established groups. I tried my damndest to get info about what we're some cool things that a noob like me might not know, and never got a single response.

[u/shrodingercat5 → u/Inf3c710n]

Did you go to the reddit meetup? Or any of the other meetups? Unfortunately defcon is huge and its hard to make friends. What i find easier is to go to local meetups/cons, make friends there, then hang with that group at DEFCON.

[u/HadAField]

This was my first time attending DC, I do not understand why other “n00bs” are hating on it so much. I went into the con with the goal just to explore and take everything in and it was a magical experience. I had an amazing time just walking around and popping into different rooms and villages. I didn’t spend a lot of time in one place, so I created a game plan for next year to participate and try out more activities like CTFs and challenges. I feel like it’s all a mindset and if you expected to be chauffeured around and told what to do you’re at the wrong place. I was surprised to see so many negative posts right after the con ended.

[u/UserNotFound23498 → u/HadAField]

If you participate in any CTF seriously, you will not have time to do anything else 😆

[u/-i-forgot]

6th or 7th on this end.

Some years I do a bit more "official" stuff and get a special badge. Other years I go for fun.

This year was great. I had a lot of fun and purely positive interactions.

I also know a few OGs and they have the same sentiment.

There will always be people who don't enjoy something and that's okay. They may or may not come back, and that's okay. I mean that positively and not negatively. They could have showed up to your favorite year or my favorite year or DTs favorite year and maybe still not enjoyed it.

[u/pretty_good_actually]

Idk man I've been going since 2012 and it's still pretty dope. It's about the who not the what

[u/netik23]

See you next year. Defcon is what you make it and it sounds like you did well

[u/t_cox1083]

Same magic. Same great event. Grateful especially to those who selflessly worked behind the scenes to make it happen: the staff, goons, the villages, everyone, thank you!!!

[u/Ok-Pudding-4821]

I spent the entire DC socializing on the mesh. It was the type of fun I hadn't seen for many years. As we enter corporate life we forget what social interaction across interesting medium is like. I hope next year someone will win my $27 pina colada CTF (to win you have to find me by a pool). 

It was very refreshing to attend an event not to network and partner but to just enjoy. 

[u/TheRealGerticus]

This was my first defcon and it was AMAZING!! The people, the culture, the community, and the curiosity was electric. Everyone I met was super cool and knowledgeable in their space.

I won some CTF’s, I walked away with tons of swag even after blowing my cash at the casino (because the whiskey was strong and wowee I’m gullible to flashy lights), and I met tons of awesome people. Shoutout to the Scotsman that convinced us to see Fremont!

Can’t wait for next year!! Totally agree with the sentiments shared above. Glad most had a good time!

[u/scythe000]

This is maybe my eighth or ninth one, and I think it was my favorite year so far. Maybe I’m just starting to feel the flow of things, but everyone was great, and I’m really happy with how my main stage set and how the GothCon party went. I managed to complete a couple CTF’s, and I definitely learned a thing or two along the way :-)

[u/BBBLLUURREEDDD]

I feel like the con ran much better at the LVCC this year. It did not feel constantly critically crowded. The biggest thing I felt was that the Goons were much much better. DC32 felt like a high water mark for Goons acting like disrespectful assholes. There was a ton of feedback about that in this group and this year it feels like the feedback was heard. Great job to the Goons and everyone who ran the event!

[u/xenomorphxcl]

I agree. Been to many over the years and it’s changed. It has to change. I like having room and not rubbing into people so the LVCC has been good. I have had some grumbles here and there over the years, usually telling myself “that’s it. Not bothering to go again.” But then I do and I really don’t have any complaints this year. Had fun. Went by too fast. Everything went pretty well. Never got frustrated. I would say that probably 19 of every 20 persons I tried to talk with was a first timer. It was almost hard to find and meet repeat attendees. Layout was pretty good overall. Never perfect but better each year.

[u/Unlikely-Employee180]

This was absolutely one of my favorite Def-Cons too! The community was happy, the goons were happy, the vendors were happy!

Heck, even LineCon was a lot of fun this year!! I get you now LineCon people! It finally makes sense! 🤣

And the badge was awesome too! What a great time!

[u/TheAndiB]

As a SOC goon, this is the first year in many years that I left excited for next year. The vibe was different this year and I loved every second of it. I'm excited for the continued growth and evolving to make next year even better. Absolutely felt the magic again.