SAN DIEGO (CAP) - TrollCon '14, the annual gathering of some of the Internet's most influential and abusive personalities, is officially in the books, and not a moment too soon. A flame war that erupted during the convention's keynote address threatened to derail the entire gathering but was abated thanks to some quick thinking.
"That was the first time we've invoked Godwin's Law in like ten years - it was awesome," said one attendee who goes by the handle n8re@ct0r. "I'm gonna go home and blog about it right now."
Organizers are calling this year's Internet Trolling Convention their most successful yet, despite budget cutbacks that resulted in fewer sponsor booths and a lower than expected turnout. While the official statistics won't be released for another day, they say a record number of people logged into TrollCon '14 from home.
"You know, it's great to meet so many people who have made trolling social media circles their purpose in life," said Fark's Drew Curtis, who delivered the keynote address. "I only wish it could have been more, but I understand how difficult it is for some of these guys to get permission from their parents to leave their house."
The expo, again hosted at the San Diego Convention Center, featured two days' worth of activities and discussion forums for the hundreds of attendees, including a Speed Trolling competition, a demonstration of Advanced Griefer Techniques, and a Q-and-A session entitled Pwning N00bs Through Mobile Technology, hosted by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
"It's kind of like staring into your own mortality," Dorsey told CAP News when the audience finally let him leave the stage. "Now I know how William Shatner felt at all those Star Trek conventions. Man, that was painful.
"I wish I could have sent that bastard Costolo," Dorsey added. "I don't know how he always manages to worm his way out of these things, but I think it's about time he gets to truly experience the fallout from what we created."
Plans for next year's convention are already underway, with an advertising blitz expected to run throughout most of the year thanks to a booth that showed the attendees how to get their Google AdWords ads for free.
- CAP News Staff