0wn The Con

This session is an annual behind-the-scenes update from the two organizers of ShmooCon, covering how the conference started and how it has grown. They describe the event beginning as a casual idea, why they keep running it, and how a volunteer staff of roughly ninety people is organized into departments, each led by a pair of co-leads.

The middle of the talk is mostly numbers and process. The call for papers drew 169 submissions, below pre-pandemic levels, and the program committee scores talks while also balancing topic tracks. Speakers are urged to follow submission instructions exactly, credit earlier research, and bring real updates to talks already published elsewhere. Ticket sales run first-in-first-out with bot countermeasures, and the organizers explain hotel room commitments, insurance, and the difficulty of collecting sponsor payments.

The closing questions cover why attendance is capped, how student participation dropped after the pandemic, and advice for people starting their own events. The main takeaway for anyone running a volunteer-driven gathering is that clear ownership, early planning, and strict written guidelines reduce chaos, and that volunteers are the core of the event.