Are people REALLY that socially awkward that there is a need for this? Pathetic.  
(I mean, yeah, cons can get pretty hectic but COME ON!)
 
I love how they even have separate “Don’t talk to me” and “Only talk to me if I know you” badges. Aren’t those pretty much the same thing? Are you saying there are people who won’t even talk to their friends and need a warning for that? xD

I propose that we introduce the same system for parties.
 
I want to be able sport my red badge, to go to someone else’s house and sit quietly in the corner without the risk of someone asking me to dance or engaging me in conversation.

All the people whining about this don’t seem to understand that it’s for their benefit as well. I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to assume that the sort of person who mocks this is the sort of person who would get pissed off if they got told to go to hell for complimenting someone’s butt or whatever; wouldn’t you appreciate it someone was wearing a sign that said “If you compliment me on my butt I will tell you to go to hell”? If you’re one of those 4chan HAW HAW AUTISTIC Я FUNNy!!1! idiots, congratulations– now you know who to avoid. You’re welcome.

@RandomBlank  
I find the opposite issue, having issues dealing with being around people. Being by myself isn’t the issue, it’s NOT being by myself that causes the issue.

@Background Pony #6773  
Autism is not binary.  
There are people with autism so deep they can’t eat, speak or take crap by themselves. And there are people with borderline autistic behaviours, say, getting unreasonably annoyed about someone taking their preferred chair. And a whole spectrum in between.
 
Personally, I like the idea. As introvert, I’d likely wear green to make some new friends most of the time, and if I’m either busy with something, or just getting tired, I’d switch to yellow.

@JP  
I just want to hug her right now!! DX

@Background Pony #6773  
This is correct: they are not mandatory, and are only given to those who ask. If you ask for the badges, you’ll get the set of three so that you can switch around as needed; the only requirement is that if you wish the badges to be respected they have to be clearly visible.
 
If you don’t see a color badge on someone, you’re free to talk to them like any other attendee.

@Minus  
I kinda like the idea. I love to make friends, but I’m too shy to tell people I’m open to conversation. Since this con I will have very few friends that I know in person, this badge will probably be a brilliant concept, since it will let people know that I want to be approached and chatted with.

These types of people are better off just not going. Being the kind of person that’d be issued one of these cards, I have HATED every time I went to a con. No matter how nice the things are there, the panic I felt was never worth it.  
A convention is simply the worst place people like us could ever go. It’s stupid to even try. I don’t think the con’s idea here is a bad one, or that they have done anything wrong. It’s the socially awkward ones who are just being silly in this situation. No-one even spoke to me when I went, or harassed me, but that didn’t make me feel any more comfortable at all. I never had any personal space was my problem. And no card can protect you from that. It worries me that these cards will be abused to get others into trouble just for walking past these awkward people who shouldn’t even be there. If that happens, then the con has officially screwed up, and helped make autistics look worse.

@Background Pony #223A  
To be honest, i think Dresfab kind of have a point here,from what i understand the badge isnt made for people with genuine autism but for people who can have fear of crowds and dont want to be bothered by strangers.However,all the peoples are different,while it’s true that some people with social anxiety can go over it with a little push in the right direction some have more difficulty controlling this stress and need more help than other.Once again,i dont think the badge are mandatory for the con

@Drefsab  
i question your understanding of autism. all i hear is “why don’t these people know how to socialize?”

@Drefsab  
No brony hating assholes but brony assholes,they surely exist.And yes,i think the internet mentality of “act like a dick without fear of retribution” have carried out to the real world as well.I see more and more people acting without empathy and thinking they’re allowed to get away with anything.You overestimate people intelligence

I just want to state for the record that i’m neither for or against the badge system,i just wish people will let the con testing this system without regurgitating “le autism 4Chan maymay” and automatically labelling the system as retarded becuase it originate from autism therapy.They are probably more intelligent criticism to make against it than a knee jerk reaction

@Background Pony #6773  
People are no different than they’ve ever been. The internet just makes it easier to be a dick because there’s no fear of retribution. How many brony-hating assholes are gonna spend the money to go to BronyCon in the first place? I mean come on, it’s a freakin’ pony convention. Even the biggest introvert will find someone to talk to. I don’t buy it that someone needs a “stranger danger” card if they have even the very slightest of human communication skills.
 
Also, if you’re gonna be passive aggressive, at least say why. Would you like another comparison? I have one. Several years ago the military tested “stress cards” that someone in training could display when they were, well, stressed. This is, of course, ridiculous. You’re in an inherently stressful environment. Signing up for basic training and not expecting to be yelled at is silly.
 
Similarly, a trip to bronycon would be silly if you didn’t expect there to be a bunch of people there. Flashing your little “don’t touch me” card isn’t going to change that. How about you suck it up and go talk to people like an adult? Or at least tell them “sorry, I’m busy”.

@Drefsab  
Most people can tell someone who they believe is bothering them to say “Sorry, could you leave me alone, thanks?” and most people will respect that.
 
The OP’s image is the situation when you take some people to extremes - the autistic and introverts can’t easily tell others verbally they are being bothers, and some people who are extreme extroverts can have problems reading the body language to understand they are making someone feel uncomfortable. Having the badge system in place is a painless way to make sure people at both extremes can have a good experience that suits them.

@Drefsab  
Some people dont understand common courtesy anymore.That how far mankind have sunk so people try to reimplement simple rules.Plus i like your comparaison of rules to prison,seriously this comparaison said it all about your state of mind

@Background Pony #223A  
And why wouldnt they implement a system for the socially abnormal ? If anything,it’s honesty and recognize that some people need help and not seeing the audience as an uniform mass.Those badges arent mandatory as far as i know.Those who want to make it clear that they dont want to be bothered will wear them,those who are more comfortable with people wont

@Background Pony #6773  
Please, it’s not a prison. You don’t need “clear rules” when it should be common courtesy to not be a dick to people. It’s ridiculous hand-holding. Besides, how many people are gonna walk up to a random person who looks terrified of their own shadow and start harassing them? There might be a few, but it’s not like a silly red card is going to project a magical force-field around the wearer that keeps douchebags away.

@Background Pony #6773  
>someone wears a badge that says “i’m deathly scared of spiders”  
>4chan not seeing an opportunity for some jollies  
nope.
 
i think it boils down to the irony of a fandom that boasts social normalcy only for a major convention to implement a system for the socially abnormal.  
i have faith /mlp/ isn’t hateful against the autistic, though probably not very well-informed on the matter, but just find the irony funny. and in 4chan fashion, push humor as far as they can get away with.  
granted, i think some of them don’t understand the rest of are joking and would attack it like it’s some sort of invented tumblr-ism condition.

@Drefsab  
It setting CLEAR rules since some people have no sense of respect for some people personal space and it remove the “but i didnt know” excuse

@RaineV1  
I think it’s a terrible idea. Being introverted is one thing, but flashing a stupid colored card is going to do nothing but invite further ridicule, which will only cause that person to be even more introverted. This reeks of touchy-feely nonsense.
 
You don’t feel comfortable around people? YOU’RE AT A CON. At least you have a the benefit of everyone around you liking what you like.

Personally, I think it could be a good idea. Some people need to warm up to crowds, especially people that are naturally very introverted.

@Background Pony #6773  
*their doom

@syringa  
The reason it cause drama already is because of the stigma associated with the word “autism” (courtesy of 4Chan),if those badges originated from ,for example,agoraphobia therapy,you wouldnt even have noticed those badges,who arent even mandatory to enter in the con.Seriously,it havent even be tested and you already wish their domm for your petty internet entertainment

I will be shocked if this doesn’t end up causing more drama than it’s supposed to prevent. Let’s see what happens.