Since this thread has devolved into yet another thread about how new cons are worse, I want to address the point people are making about congoers being less approachable now since I'm the type to stick with my friend group when at cons (though I still talk with people if they approach me). Basically the big difference between then and now is that anime is mainstream and everyone is a weeb (though we have the issue of genuine enthusiasts and normies who just watch shonenslop and nothing else using the same term for themselves). When you're in a society in which everyone's a "weeb", you likely already have weeb friends before you go to a given con, so using that con to network like people did back in the day is kinda useless. I disagree with people saying it's a generational thing because I happen to know several zoomer weebs that are outgoing, whether that's survivorship bias or not is I guess up for debate.