Provide Feedback for DEF CON 32: What do you dislike and how would you make it better?

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This is my second year of DEFCON. This year it was more productive for me. I had the chance to actually get hands-on, attended talks, socialize with various people, and attended more parties. In one of the village that I was able to get hands-on I feel the skills I have, I was able to do the tasking not to much of an issue. I was confident in myself and didn't felt like a total noob. Even though I am and still have a long way to go, but I felt confident in my skill.

I also enjoyed VETCON and the VETCON community space. It was great hanging out with other veterans who are in a similar field. Hopefully, this keeps going on too.

The only thing I dislike was the food/drinks onsite. They accepted only credit card and no cash. So, I either had to get my food or drinks before hand, or I sneak it inside the venue. Other than that, I had a really good time at DEFCON this year. I know others might not agree but this is just my own opinion and experience. Till the next DEFCON.

Plusses
* I loved loved LOVED how much space there was this year. Especially the number of chairs and tables available throughout the convention space. No more sitting on the floor behind a plastic plant with a laptop in my lap for literal hours while working on a contest challenge!
* Having everything under one roof is so convenient!
* Having the Fountainebleau right across the street for alternative food options was great. Having food trucks outside for most daylight hours was also great.
* Somehow as big as this space was, it seemed very easy to find people and reconnect with people I hadn't seen since last year.
* Streaming all the talk spaces was so helpful when a track filled up (Hacker Jeopardy, for example). Coupled with the ample tables and chairs, we had little watch parties in the convention center for a couple things that we wanted to get into but couldn't.
* Back on that food kick, I stayed at the Springhill Suites around the corner and, at first, I was worried there wasn't a lot going on around the convention center as far as meals and other places to meet up with people outside the convention center, then I went to the other side of the convention center and saw all the options available. It made me feel less bad about missing out on Yard House and Secret Pizza this year :P

Minuses
* Signage was a bit vague. On Thursday and Friday it was a bit overwhelming trying to get around. After I learned the layout, I didn't need the signs, but if I was looking for something specific, I got turned around A LOT trying to find it. In the same vein, there should be more signage inside the contest/vendor/village area to tell you what things are down which aisle.
* While it was great to have everything under one roof, having contests and villages and vendors all in the same giant space made me feel disconnected from what was going on. I think that if that space was divided into 3 spaces (Contests, Villages, Vendors) it would help people find new things they are interested in easier and help those looking for specific things to find them easier.
* Linecon was a mess. In years past, there was tape on the floor and barriers to guide everybody through the line. There were goons constantly herding people, yelling for people to move up or lose their spot. Lines were laid out in a way that people were mostly not having to cut through the line to go elsewhere in the space. These are all things that were missing this year.
* Merch Linecon was even more of a mess.
* The number of times I saw Humans taking pictures of crowds or individuals without getting consent from the subject was UNCONSCIONABLE. I understand that DEF CON's photo policy has relaxed since years past and I'm fine with that, but different people have different threat models and people NEED to understand that some people's safety and/or security can be compromised by flippant photography. Also, some people just don't like having their pictures taken.

Minuses, but mostly outside of DEF CON's control
* Room searches at Resorts World - Room searches have become pretty standard in Vegas since 2017 and I get that hotels want to _at least_ have the semblance of safety for their guests. But it felt like a direct snub to DEF CON goers that booked at Resorts World in the DEF CON room block, to be targeted for room searches JUST BECAUSE they took advantage of a deal offered by the hotel. It was targeted and it was disrespectful, but they happily took our money knowing full well they were going to treat us like second-class citizens and we would have no recourse as long as they sprung it on us on check-in day. It's a shame that they think they can treat us this way, and it's a shame that they CAN treat us this way.
* I have some friends that stayed at the Rio and really enjoyed the shuttle service they provided to the convention center, but it sounds like they stopped the shuttle service after a while. Being that there were things going on in the convention center well into the night, it's a shame that if people wanted to stay out for that stuff they'd have to Uber/Lyft/cab back to the Rio afterwards. It would've been nice if the shuttle ran until everything at the convention center was done. Maybe if more people were staying at the Rio it would have been more worth their while to do so.