Well I remember the times I went to (single digit) Def Cons. Cement in the toilet, sizable portions of the hotel lost power, haxors taking the event room doors off their hinges, those plotting to exploit the digital signage.
As a more recent attendee, it's not like that at all anymore. The edgiest you'll get is some graybeard thinking they're "alt" and "punk" while advocating for checking IDs at registration and having quite literally identical political views to Brenda from HR. The attendees have overall been insanely passified, I presume a side-effect of the rapid growth and number of straight-lace SWE guys there because of their employers.
Even this year, you will be trespassed from the con for putting up _googly eyes_ and there are 4-6 different villages dedicates to "break-times" and inclusivity.
Probably for the best, no way a truly "edgy" and zany hacker con would've been able to find venues to host at nowadays anyway.
> Probably for the best, no way a truly "edgy" and zany hacker con would've been able to find venues to host at nowadays anyway.
Best for business, perhaps. I stopped going several years ago when the conference got too soft. Yes, the antics were sometimes too much and it's understandable why SOME THINGS would need to be reigned in. For example, concrete in the toilets, flares in the elevators, windows getting broken, ATMs being hacked etc. 100% understandable.
The defcon today is completely sterilized. It's an extension of corporate culture in it's truest sense. There's no interesting things going on anymore. The noted "inclusivity" breakouts and villages are growing, the goons are more serious, the "hackers" are mostly Joe's From Accounting, etc. Part of the allure of old defcon was everyone was just a hacker. It never, ever mattered who you identified as or what you were. Can you hack? Great, you're in. Everyone serious never gave names and cameras were very seriously frowned upon. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
If I'm being honest it's gone from the high point of my year to something I'm glad is just a memory for me. I went for ~15 years. It's sad to watch it turn into this sterilized "dont offend anyone or anything" after being counter-culture for decades. But, you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I'm once again glad I didn't spend the money to go.
Vegas + hacker cons, everything one might expect.