5 ms·

Ask HN: What have the USDS and 18F accomplished so far?

30 points by abarrettjo 11y ago

Interested in hearing about projects that have been accomplished or examples of cool things they've done.

giaour 11y ago
They've found a way to source programming work for a dollar.
- thisisdallas 11y ago
  What is your comment about? Is it all volunteer work?
  - giaour 11y ago
    They were experimenting with reverse auctions on software contracts, and the first contract went for $1. http://www.brendansudol.com/writing/18f-micropurchase/ http://www.brendansudol.com/writing/18f-micropurchase/
    - rkho 11y ago
      Looks like the person who won that reverse auction did a follow up here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10570069 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10570069
      - giaour 11y ago
        Yes, that was linked to in the comment you're replying to.
anon6_ 11y ago
They hired him: https://github.com/joyent/libuv/pull/1015 https://github.com/joyent/libuv/pull/1015 (https://archive.is/NU6PZ https://archive.is/NU6PZ) I'm surprised you could pull cheap bullying like that and get hired anywhere afterwards, it's pretty much a tell you'd stir up drama somewhere else.
- anon6_ 11y ago
  For some reason I can't edit: I never understood how things got so low or why people make a big thing out of these things. The person making the pull request, who was later hired by the 18F, was doing this to show how virtuous he was. Yet, it showed a huge ignorance and ethnocentrism to the fact that other contributors on the project speak english as a second language. One of the developers being criticized first language is a gendered language [1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_gender https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_gender This would make me a bit afraid to seek employment at 18F. It leaves me the impression you could be picked on or mobbed for completely innocent things.
- thex10 11y ago
  Interesting point but calling that bullying (on the part of the OP) seems like a huge overstatement
  - anon6_ 11y ago
    To some, shaming is a form of bullying. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKsOwJ8AGWo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKsOwJ8AGWo
- servercobra 11y ago
  I worked with Alex for about a year and they landed a brilliant developer, so good job to them. If caring about inclusivity is "cheap bullying", it's gonna be hard to hire non-"bullies". As far as the gendered languages, I think that's a bad argument. If I was using a word (maybe a variable name or something) that was a swear word or offensive in another language and someone corrected me, I'd merge without issue.
  - anon6_ 11y ago
    These stunts did nothing for inclusivity. They caused controversy and split people apart. This isn't the hacker way. Even females I know making tech weren't comfortable with this. Some found it patronizing, others dismissed it as sophistic. They all are worried that men in tech will consider females to be hypersensitive troublemakers. Frankly, these days I have more bias against women than I ever had before these stunts. If I hire a female, is she going to stir up a fuss over whatever's the latest blame politic trending on Twitter? That would put women at a disadvantage. I admire the idea of helping the weak. I disagree that this was the way to go about it. I reiterate that shaming and nitpicking can feel quite bullying - even to men.
tdicola 11y ago
Have you visited their website? Right on the main page is a link to their projects, "Learn more about what we're building and how we're doing it.". Links to https://18f.gsa.gov/dashboard/ https://18f.gsa.gov/dashboard/ with over a couple dozen different government projects they're involved with.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
wslack 11y ago
May I recommend: https://18f.gsa.gov/tags/our-projects/ https://18f.gsa.gov/tags/our-projects/ (I work at 18F)

30 points by abarrettjo 11y ago

Interested in hearing about projects that have been accomplished or examples of cool things they've done.

giaour 11y ago

They've found a way to source programming work for a dollar.

thisisdallas 11y ago
What is your comment about? Is it all volunteer work?
- giaour 11y ago
  They were experimenting with reverse auctions on software contracts, and the first contract went for $1. http://www.brendansudol.com/writing/18f-micropurchase/ http://www.brendansudol.com/writing/18f-micropurchase/
  - rkho 11y ago
    Looks like the person who won that reverse auction did a follow up here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10570069 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10570069
    - giaour 11y ago
      Yes, that was linked to in the comment you're replying to.

anon6_ 11y ago

They hired him: https://github.com/joyent/libuv/pull/1015 https://github.com/joyent/libuv/pull/1015 (https://archive.is/NU6PZ https://archive.is/NU6PZ) I'm surprised you could pull cheap bullying like that and get hired anywhere afterwards, it's pretty much a tell you'd stir up drama somewhere else.

anon6_ 11y ago
For some reason I can't edit: I never understood how things got so low or why people make a big thing out of these things. The person making the pull request, who was later hired by the 18F, was doing this to show how virtuous he was. Yet, it showed a huge ignorance and ethnocentrism to the fact that other contributors on the project speak english as a second language. One of the developers being criticized first language is a gendered language [1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_gender https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_gender This would make me a bit afraid to seek employment at 18F. It leaves me the impression you could be picked on or mobbed for completely innocent things.
thex10 11y ago
Interesting point but calling that bullying (on the part of the OP) seems like a huge overstatement
- anon6_ 11y ago
  To some, shaming is a form of bullying. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKsOwJ8AGWo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKsOwJ8AGWo
servercobra 11y ago
I worked with Alex for about a year and they landed a brilliant developer, so good job to them. If caring about inclusivity is "cheap bullying", it's gonna be hard to hire non-"bullies". As far as the gendered languages, I think that's a bad argument. If I was using a word (maybe a variable name or something) that was a swear word or offensive in another language and someone corrected me, I'd merge without issue.
- anon6_ 11y ago
  These stunts did nothing for inclusivity. They caused controversy and split people apart. This isn't the hacker way. Even females I know making tech weren't comfortable with this. Some found it patronizing, others dismissed it as sophistic. They all are worried that men in tech will consider females to be hypersensitive troublemakers. Frankly, these days I have more bias against women than I ever had before these stunts. If I hire a female, is she going to stir up a fuss over whatever's the latest blame politic trending on Twitter? That would put women at a disadvantage. I admire the idea of helping the weak. I disagree that this was the way to go about it. I reiterate that shaming and nitpicking can feel quite bullying - even to men.

tdicola 11y ago

Have you visited their website? Right on the main page is a link to their projects, "Learn more about what we're building and how we're doing it.". Links to https://18f.gsa.gov/dashboard/ https://18f.gsa.gov/dashboard/ with over a couple dozen different government projects they're involved with.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

wslack 11y ago

May I recommend: https://18f.gsa.gov/tags/our-projects/ https://18f.gsa.gov/tags/our-projects/ (I work at 18F)