Certain things appeal to me about old cons but I'm also not for rose tinted glasses either. Starting with the positive
>OP pic
Breathing room + it's not a game of Where's Waldo to spot the lone cosplayer
>Smaller scale
These were always better and always will be. I know social butterflies who turn cagey at the giant cons, and who can blame em? Everything in one spot makes for a better experience in every way, unless you're a "Line go up = always good" type
>Enthusiasm
MGScon last year felt like a real return to form on that. You know everyone's there for the exact same reason you are, and never have to worry about some fag saying "I dunno what any of this stuff means, cause I don't care about anime". And being unapologetically weird has its perks too. Just check the announcements page here, the calls for official meetups and panels at ACEN and Okaton from almost 20 years ago are STILL up. But leads to the bad

>Extreme tism
I go to cons to hang out and chat with weirdos, not get up my own ass about being a godtier lore master of 100 franchises. Some online stuff translates well in person-- this ain't one. Today there are more spergs who understand rebuffing everything to be "contrarian" is a dick move. The "Druk" thread's a great case for that
>Social media / clout chasers
Nothing that hasn't been said before, except I now like when the cell towers get overloaded and force everyone to put their phones down