Well ... re the false fire alarm, the miscommunications, miscues and assorted ancillary adventures & misadventure ... it's worth bearing in mind that we don't hold Conventions in the heart of the Big City, because the environment there is conducive to ... whatever it was we came here for.

The general asset to the WordPress community, in holding a shin-dig in San Francisco, is that the attendees come away with "a memorable experience" ... and that it's shared with those who share an interest. Meet folks; make (real) contact. This is basically the secret of eg Outward Bound, etc.

Conventions are legitimately notorious. Many a couple finds its test at a long-weekend business git-together. A lot of people in lines of work that hold conventions either, a.) never miss one, or b.) never attend ('except that once').

'Camping' of course connotes something very different from Conventioneering. There are many WordCamps, and they vary in character & context a great deal. Only a relative few will have the glamour & send-up of a San Francisco event.

My own suspicion is that the classic convention is actually not a good fit for the temperament of many 'computer folk'. Which may help explain why the WordPress version is styled as a 'camp'.