Why the hell do people act like that at the conference? That sounds like children running amok, not a security conference.

The age requirement for Defcon is 18. There is also a large cross section of counter culture and drug culture. There were many parties happening. I recall smoking salvia out of a hooka, which later tipped and burned the bed sheets. A random guy came in to the party with a 50 gallon trash bag full of dried salvia.

No, defcon has no age requirement.

Yep you're correct.

Yes, there were a number of intelligent looking young children there. This however is only in furtherence of the argument that we must set good examples.

Because it's defcon, not blackhat. Defcon is the Saturday before graduation at a frat house. Blackhat is a the 4th of July at a country club.

Could someone translate that from American to European for us non-US residents, please?

Frat houses[1] are known for having a lot of parties. This partying will crescendo around the university's graduation date. DEFCON is being compared to one of these peak parties.

Black Hat is a bit more subdued. It costs a lot more to attend Black Hat. Black Hat parties are more like casual social gatherings. I believe that in Europe, country clubs are more likely to be called gentlemen's clubs. In either case, it's usually the richer people attending.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_fraternity_and_...

When was the last time that you went to DEFCON?

over a decade ago :(