5 ms·

Rather than go to class I created a popular custom discussion forum for students to help each other with the homework problems (back in the early 2000's). Ended

by jdmt 13y ago

Rather than go to class I created a popular custom discussion forum for students to help each other with the homework problems (back in the early 2000's). Ended up teaching myself perl, html, css, javascript and sql in the process which landed me my first job. Never had to do my physics homework (useless busywork) because the answers were posted on the forum. Still received grades of B+ or higher.

jdmt 13y ago
wow, why the downvote? I'm very proud of the website I created. It was what got me started with programming and lit a fire under me to learn new programming languages. I don't share much on HN but a downvote to this post makes me want to refrain from ever sharing.
- enraged_camel 13y ago
  >>wow, why the downvote? Because of this: "Never had to do my physics homework (useless busywork) because the answers were posted on the forum."
  - jdmt 13y ago
    [Original message removed due to another downvote. I guess I will not share personal anecdotes anymore. I feel that downvotes are for off topic or mean comments. I only shared a personal experience that I felt related to the OP's story.]
    - enraged_camel 13y ago
      Sharing personal anecdotes is fine. You however seemed to be espousing cheating the system. You didn't go to class, and instead built this collaboration system (which is awesome) but then used it to cheat (not so awesome).
      - jdmt 13y ago
        > You however seemed to be espousing cheating the system. Doesn't that sound similar to hacking the system? We are using a website called hacker news. Not only was collaboration on homework encouraged, but the class actually had its own discussion forum for people to use. However, everyone disliked the forum because it was cumbersome and slow. So I built my own. At the end of the semester I had many people thank me for the website and asked to have it expanded to cover more classes. Using this forum I personally helped many students understand concepts and taught concepts that the professors couldn't teach properly. There were a few subjects I didn't understand and other students stepped in to help. You were not in my class and did not use this forum so I don't think you should rush to judgement about what was/wasn't cheating. By definition, hackers do things that push boundaries. There will always be disagreement but you don't have to downvote just because you disagree. Voice your opinion, certainly, but please be careful with those downvotes.
        Bahamut 13y ago
        Cheating is not a boundary that deserves to be pushed & rewarded :/ .
        chasing 13y ago
        "Doesn't that sound similar to hacking the system?" Ha. No. The system is designed to make you learn about physics, in this case. You did not learn about physics. You actually hacked the system to take your time and money and not give you a good result. Kind of a dumb hack, if you ask me.
        jdmt 13y ago
        >You actually hacked the system to take your time and money and not give you a good result. And what if I earned 100% on the 2 midterms and a 94% on the final? I got a 96% in that physics class. Other students told me that their exam grades improved after starting to use the forum. Not sure how I didn't get a good result. Again, I'd like to say that rushing to judgement of other people's situations isn't beneficial to anyone. I feel as though my initial post was very on topic and was kind of hurt when it was downvoted within a few minutes. We're all here to help and support each other. By the way, I'm new to posting on HN and am wondering how you made your text italics?
  - bobz 13y ago
    I still think this is an abuse of down-vote priviledges... downvote should be used to bury non-constructive comments, not express disagreement with a point or behavior. (That's what comments are for.)

by jdmt 13y ago

jdmt 13y ago

wow, why the downvote? I'm very proud of the website I created. It was what got me started with programming and lit a fire under me to learn new programming languages. I don't share much on HN but a downvote to this post makes me want to refrain from ever sharing.

enraged_camel 13y ago
>>wow, why the downvote? Because of this: "Never had to do my physics homework (useless busywork) because the answers were posted on the forum."
- jdmt 13y ago
  [Original message removed due to another downvote. I guess I will not share personal anecdotes anymore. I feel that downvotes are for off topic or mean comments. I only shared a personal experience that I felt related to the OP's story.]
  - enraged_camel 13y ago
    Sharing personal anecdotes is fine. You however seemed to be espousing cheating the system. You didn't go to class, and instead built this collaboration system (which is awesome) but then used it to cheat (not so awesome).
    - jdmt 13y ago
      > You however seemed to be espousing cheating the system. Doesn't that sound similar to hacking the system? We are using a website called hacker news. Not only was collaboration on homework encouraged, but the class actually had its own discussion forum for people to use. However, everyone disliked the forum because it was cumbersome and slow. So I built my own. At the end of the semester I had many people thank me for the website and asked to have it expanded to cover more classes. Using this forum I personally helped many students understand concepts and taught concepts that the professors couldn't teach properly. There were a few subjects I didn't understand and other students stepped in to help. You were not in my class and did not use this forum so I don't think you should rush to judgement about what was/wasn't cheating. By definition, hackers do things that push boundaries. There will always be disagreement but you don't have to downvote just because you disagree. Voice your opinion, certainly, but please be careful with those downvotes.
      - Bahamut 13y ago
        Cheating is not a boundary that deserves to be pushed & rewarded :/ .
      - chasing 13y ago
        "Doesn't that sound similar to hacking the system?" Ha. No. The system is designed to make you learn about physics, in this case. You did not learn about physics. You actually hacked the system to take your time and money and not give you a good result. Kind of a dumb hack, if you ask me.
        jdmt 13y ago
        >You actually hacked the system to take your time and money and not give you a good result. And what if I earned 100% on the 2 midterms and a 94% on the final? I got a 96% in that physics class. Other students told me that their exam grades improved after starting to use the forum. Not sure how I didn't get a good result. Again, I'd like to say that rushing to judgement of other people's situations isn't beneficial to anyone. I feel as though my initial post was very on topic and was kind of hurt when it was downvoted within a few minutes. We're all here to help and support each other. By the way, I'm new to posting on HN and am wondering how you made your text italics?
- bobz 13y ago
  I still think this is an abuse of down-vote priviledges... downvote should be used to bury non-constructive comments, not express disagreement with a point or behavior. (That's what comments are for.)