Over here it's a tad different, we have multiple occasions where Girls ranging from 15 to 17 went to these events as "Towel girls" which is pretty much a generic Anime girl dresses with just a Towell around her body (And panties) or pretty much a softcore hentai cosplay.

That's... bad for the image of any serious event, but it got a little worst when they were repeatedly spotted on multiple events with little signs saying stuff like "Kisses $2, Hug $3" etc...

I want to go to a steampunk con some time, I'm planning my new wardrobe entirely on asian/indian and subtle steampunk mix, trying to make it classy rather than obvious though.

Anime cons are ok, from my experience you have screenings which are like free movie theaters, you have conferences which are like city hall meetings for silly flash and browser games, you have your art halls for buying really niche wapanese things, swords, keychains, overpriced anime stuff, ect, your really really good gamers room where people who are sick of beating all of their friends all the time have specifically come to this con in the hopes they wont have to go easy. and you have your obligatory overcrowded sealed-vent large rooms that smell like a different shameful bodily excretion every hour.

The people are pretty tame and most lack self confidence, so I don't feel threatened at all by anyone when I go to them ^_^

Many of them need to learn what soap is!
 

Yeah, I hear you. Now and again I've seen young women get thrown out for the costumes they've tried to wear around, or lack of them I guess. And the obsession with "free hugs" and the like as signs...

At first, cons were amazing to me, as the actor and licensing company panels were outstanding and the dealer room super fun and the music video contests quite enjoyable. But then the fans. Oh man the fans. If anything has had a negative effect on my involvement in the medium and all that my fellow fans have certainly been one of the most negative influences.

Last year I went to a medieval festival/convention thing called Castlefest in the Netherlands.
Very fun and a nice atmosphere, and were it not for the fact I don't have a costume I'd go again this year. Last year I really just went to see the folk-band Rapalje play. *shrugs*

And later this year, I'll be going to LEGO World in Zwolle (again, the Netherlands), which should prove fun too.

I tried really hard to get to Gencon this year, but things just didn't pan out. Im probably going to hit up NYCC though.

I think the closest thing I've been to an actual con was the Magic: The gathering Grand Prix in toms river a few years ago, and Going to Neutral Ground before it closed

Squeaky dick gets the oil.

My regular con is Anime Central in Chicago. It's pretty huge and awesome. It's kind of amusing. I go there, and this year I didn't go to any panels at all but I still had an awesome time. I go with a huge group of friends, so I can't imagine going alone.

Fans can be really irritating. But on the flip side, some of them are some pretty cool people. I've been going to Acen for three years now and every year we've run into this one cosplayer who we really got along with, so now we look for each other every year.

Nah, World Steampunk Expo. It was in Detroit.

Oh. I had some friends who went there as well, but I couldn't make it. =P