Cansecwest, recon, there are tons of great, much smaller venues. Blackhat is more and more like RSA, and DC is more and more just a time to hang out with friends and catch up. The size of crowds is just unbelievable. My first DefCon was 18 years ago. It’s just so different.

Black Hat is the "real" security conference that runs alongside DEF CON.

Have you even attended? It is not a corporate event doesn't mean it is not serious. Real conf, what sort of gatekeeping is that.

There is still zero days being dropped and you meet a lot of the smartest people in infosec.

There are a ton of other infosec conferences where you'll meet just as many if not more of the smartest people, with a much better SNR.

"Gatekeeping"

Your local BSides.

The furry part is most certainly true.

All of it is true.