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While I was hunting for a remote developer job last December, it was hard to find the company that really suited me. Due to the isolating nature of remote work

While I was hunting for a remote developer job last December, it was hard to find the company that really suited me. Due to the isolating nature of remote working, it's important to know how the remote team communicates (Slack, email, Skype, Phone call...), and how they collaborate (Dropbox, Google Doc, Git, ...). The purpose of this project is to answer those questions and beyond. I also wrote an article on this project: https://sungwoncho.io/i-am-making-remotebase/ https://sungwoncho.io/i-am-making-remotebase/

augustocallejas 10y ago
Hi Sung, this looks great. Do you mind sharing what technology you used to build it?
- gkov 10y ago
  Not an expert, but it seems to be built with meteor.
- stockkid 10y ago
  I used Meteor and Mantra. Mantra is an application architecture I am a contributor of (https://github.com/kadirahq/mantra https://github.com/kadirahq/mantra).
ecesena 10y ago
Pretty cool and useful, thanks for sharing. I wonder, what did you use as a db? Since you started with a spreadsheet, you could just use that. Google Spreadsheet has a json api that you can query directly from your web app. I did it for http://hasgluten.com http://hasgluten.com, if you want to see it in practice (hosted for free on github). Easier to keep the "backend" updated, since you just have to edit the spreadsheet.
- underwater 10y ago
  You're not worried about accidentally corrupting data? I do that all the time with spreadsheets. Seems like it would could be pretty bad if you accidentally labelled something gluten free and it wasn't.
  - ecesena 10y ago
    !? what's the diff with a db!?
- collyw 10y ago
  Don't encourage people to use spreadsheets as a databases. It never ends well.
  - mikekchar 10y ago
    It's actually quite useful if your application never updates your data and you want a data entry system for free. Downside is validation is a PITA, but for certain things using something like Google spreadsheets will get you a very long way very quickly. You can then build a better data entry system after that.
    - collyw 10y ago
      In my experience the gains made from a quick setup are quickly offset by the amount of time wasted by not having any data validation, and the resulting bad data that gets into the system.
      - Trundle 10y ago
        How is bad data getting in to the system if not through the application?
  - ecesena 10y ago
    For an app with 200 records!?
- stockkid 10y ago
  I'm using MongoDB. At first, I used google spreadsheet as a database using JSON API. But the spreadsheet was public and it was vandalized so much. So I just exported the sheet as JSON array and put it in Mongo.
  - ecesena 10y ago
    Sorry, not sure I follow. Is mongo public? I dont think so. So the issue isn't the spreadsheet, it's your data with public write access, which is of course a very bad idea.
Zelmor 10y ago
One of the issues I've found is that testers seem to be underrepresented by remote work listing sites. Or is it just the start-up scene, where testing is pushed onto the developers?
- karmelapple 10y ago
  Unfortunately, I think that's true; dedicated testers at startups, especially early stage, are quite rare. Given that, what kind of background do you have? Please reach out to me on Twitter or elsewhere!
  - gspetr 10y ago
    Hmm, are you looking for testers?
    - karmelapple 10y ago
      It's always good to know more people, so when we decide we need something, we can let you know!

augustocallejas 10y ago

Hi Sung, this looks great. Do you mind sharing what technology you used to build it?

gkov 10y ago
Not an expert, but it seems to be built with meteor.
stockkid 10y ago
I used Meteor and Mantra. Mantra is an application architecture I am a contributor of (https://github.com/kadirahq/mantra https://github.com/kadirahq/mantra).

ecesena 10y ago

Pretty cool and useful, thanks for sharing. I wonder, what did you use as a db? Since you started with a spreadsheet, you could just use that. Google Spreadsheet has a json api that you can query directly from your web app. I did it for http://hasgluten.com http://hasgluten.com, if you want to see it in practice (hosted for free on github). Easier to keep the "backend" updated, since you just have to edit the spreadsheet.

underwater 10y ago
You're not worried about accidentally corrupting data? I do that all the time with spreadsheets. Seems like it would could be pretty bad if you accidentally labelled something gluten free and it wasn't.
- ecesena 10y ago
  !? what's the diff with a db!?
collyw 10y ago
Don't encourage people to use spreadsheets as a databases. It never ends well.
- mikekchar 10y ago
  It's actually quite useful if your application never updates your data and you want a data entry system for free. Downside is validation is a PITA, but for certain things using something like Google spreadsheets will get you a very long way very quickly. You can then build a better data entry system after that.
  - collyw 10y ago
    In my experience the gains made from a quick setup are quickly offset by the amount of time wasted by not having any data validation, and the resulting bad data that gets into the system.
    - Trundle 10y ago
      How is bad data getting in to the system if not through the application?
- ecesena 10y ago
  For an app with 200 records!?
stockkid 10y ago
I'm using MongoDB. At first, I used google spreadsheet as a database using JSON API. But the spreadsheet was public and it was vandalized so much. So I just exported the sheet as JSON array and put it in Mongo.
- ecesena 10y ago
  Sorry, not sure I follow. Is mongo public? I dont think so. So the issue isn't the spreadsheet, it's your data with public write access, which is of course a very bad idea.

Zelmor 10y ago

One of the issues I've found is that testers seem to be underrepresented by remote work listing sites. Or is it just the start-up scene, where testing is pushed onto the developers?

karmelapple 10y ago
Unfortunately, I think that's true; dedicated testers at startups, especially early stage, are quite rare. Given that, what kind of background do you have? Please reach out to me on Twitter or elsewhere!
- gspetr 10y ago
  Hmm, are you looking for testers?
  - karmelapple 10y ago
    It's always good to know more people, so when we decide we need something, we can let you know!