My major problem with the PRISM debacle was less that the NSA stores and analyzes Internet traffic (although it's perfectly reasonable to be upset about it) and more that they were doing it secretively (mixed with some disgust at how much money, energy, and time must be wasted storing and sifting through unfathomable amounts of data).
With that in mind, it's kind of counterintuitive to close the door to conversation when silence was the issue in the first place. It almost seems like a melodramatic romance ("I just need to be alone right now."), which portrays the DEF CON organizers as reactionary and immature.
I also think it creates unnecessary hostility when you disinvite a group of people that everyone seems to know will attend anyway. In fact, it just creates more secrecy.
With that in mind, it's kind of counterintuitive to close the door to conversation when silence was the issue in the first place. It almost seems like a melodramatic romance ("I just need to be alone right now."), which portrays the DEF CON organizers as reactionary and immature.
I also think it creates unnecessary hostility when you disinvite a group of people that everyone seems to know will attend anyway. In fact, it just creates more secrecy.