4 ms·

The Root is amazing, you will not find a more talented group of people. A couple of us post here on HN. It's invite only but getting in is just a matter of havi

The Root is amazing, you will not find a more talented group of people. A couple of us post here on HN. It's invite only but getting in is just a matter of having a connection (you do) and an impressive portfolio (do you?) http://www.theroot42.org http://www.theroot42.org

vorador 16y ago
I don't get why those sites are invite only. I'm a total beginner concerning UX, and I'd like to learn, but I can't because the content of those sites is inaccessible for non-logged in users. What's the point ?
- pxlpshr 16y ago
  TR42 was once public but later overran by anime and insulting people. Invite system allows us to operate an incredibly close knit community (300-400 active users) which has been around since about 2000/1. Furthermore, an invitation is half the battle... membership is still based on whether or not the community votes you in. From a commercial designer's perspective, we have more freedom to share behind close doors. Because of the trust that's formed the last decade, we've had meetups all over the world. No matter what country you're in — there's usually a rooter who's got an open door. In addition, TR42 isn't just about art... it's a living community and people share very personal details that they don't want index by spiders or viewable by the general public. I'm not going into specifics but it gets very personal.
NathanKP 16y ago
So if we are interested in joining do we send an email to ben (at) carbonfour.com, or do we talk to you?
- pxlpshr 16y ago
  For the record, Ben is an incredibly inspiring designer at Facebook who brings a whole 'nother dimension to tech and design. http://designforfun.com/display.php?id=99 http://designforfun.com/display.php?id=99
- pmichaud 16y ago
  We can talk, sure. And yes, pxlpshr speaks truly--Ben is a great designer, the founder of the root, and he was the first rooter to work for FB.
  - NathanKP 16y ago
    I don't have a huge claim to fame, just the design work that I am doing for my as of yet uncompleted web app. To make a long story short I don't consider myself to be a really professional web designer, but I would like to learn and get feedback on my design efforts. I can send you an email with examples of my design work. Should I send it via the contact form on your site?
diehell 16y ago
what if one doesnt have any impressive portfolio or any even. Could one just join & learn??
- pmichaud 16y ago
  It's a voting system. If you don't have anything to show, people probably won't vote to let you in. You need a minimum number of votes to get in, so I'd get crackin' on those impressive projects 8)
  - josefresco 16y ago
    Uhg, talk about a community that I don't want any part of. Can you imagine submitting sample code to be 'allowed' into Hacker News or a similar service? No thank you.
    - bmelton 16y ago
      You say that so negatively, but I bet, at the very least, it would mean we could skip the "HN Sucks now" threads that pop up every month. Edit: I just wanted to say that I was joking there, since it might not be obvious. The detriment of course would be that we'd lose out on the advice of the non-technical members we have here.
jmulder 16y ago
The Root still exists? That's just crazy. I remember first visiting that place back in the days I was still active at deviantART as well, which must have been like 8 years ago now. Don't think my account is still there though... ;-)

vorador 16y ago

I don't get why those sites are invite only. I'm a total beginner concerning UX, and I'd like to learn, but I can't because the content of those sites is inaccessible for non-logged in users. What's the point ?

pxlpshr 16y ago
TR42 was once public but later overran by anime and insulting people. Invite system allows us to operate an incredibly close knit community (300-400 active users) which has been around since about 2000/1. Furthermore, an invitation is half the battle... membership is still based on whether or not the community votes you in. From a commercial designer's perspective, we have more freedom to share behind close doors. Because of the trust that's formed the last decade, we've had meetups all over the world. No matter what country you're in — there's usually a rooter who's got an open door. In addition, TR42 isn't just about art... it's a living community and people share very personal details that they don't want index by spiders or viewable by the general public. I'm not going into specifics but it gets very personal.

NathanKP 16y ago

So if we are interested in joining do we send an email to ben (at) carbonfour.com, or do we talk to you?

pxlpshr 16y ago
For the record, Ben is an incredibly inspiring designer at Facebook who brings a whole 'nother dimension to tech and design. http://designforfun.com/display.php?id=99 http://designforfun.com/display.php?id=99
pmichaud 16y ago
We can talk, sure. And yes, pxlpshr speaks truly--Ben is a great designer, the founder of the root, and he was the first rooter to work for FB.
- NathanKP 16y ago
  I don't have a huge claim to fame, just the design work that I am doing for my as of yet uncompleted web app. To make a long story short I don't consider myself to be a really professional web designer, but I would like to learn and get feedback on my design efforts. I can send you an email with examples of my design work. Should I send it via the contact form on your site?

diehell 16y ago

what if one doesnt have any impressive portfolio or any even. Could one just join & learn??

pmichaud 16y ago
It's a voting system. If you don't have anything to show, people probably won't vote to let you in. You need a minimum number of votes to get in, so I'd get crackin' on those impressive projects 8)
- josefresco 16y ago
  Uhg, talk about a community that I don't want any part of. Can you imagine submitting sample code to be 'allowed' into Hacker News or a similar service? No thank you.
  - bmelton 16y ago
    You say that so negatively, but I bet, at the very least, it would mean we could skip the "HN Sucks now" threads that pop up every month. Edit: I just wanted to say that I was joking there, since it might not be obvious. The detriment of course would be that we'd lose out on the advice of the non-technical members we have here.

jmulder 16y ago

The Root still exists? That's just crazy. I remember first visiting that place back in the days I was still active at deviantART as well, which must have been like 8 years ago now. Don't think my account is still there though... ;-)