4 ms·

Technically what you're saying is you can't use Rails, you'd have to use Ruby, because Rails is pre-existing code built on top of Ruby. That also throws out jQ

• untog 13y ago
  Pretty obvious condition would be that it's pre-existing code you wrote. I'm sure that's what the OP intended.
  • lotyrin 13y ago
    So, someone who is a prolific FOSS contributor is screwed?
  • mbesto 13y ago
    Where do you draw the line? Let's say I'm a core developer on Rails, am I not allowed to use Rails then? What happens if I contributed 1 line of code to Rails, does that negate it then?
    • makomk 13y ago
      The obvious place to draw the line is the point where the code you wrote isn't equally available to you and all the other competitors.
      • dllthomas 13y ago
        This, coupled with a requirement about being clear what pieces are new.
        • SilasX 13y ago
          And obviated by the judges having no easy way to learn and isolate which "part" of the app they're testing, and how such compartmentalization goes strongly against human psychology.
          • dllthomas 13y ago
            I don't pretend it'll be "perfect", but it should let decisions fall (noisily) around what we think of as "fair" (since we're all running that assessment through the same hardware) which is really what we're looking for.
    • bigiain 13y ago
      <rules-lawyering-participant>So I get my buddy/silent-partner to develop my cool and unique API beforehand and sneak it unannounced onto a relatively anonymous public Github account before the comp starts, but close enough to the start date that no-one else will have even heard of it yet. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit!
    • megablast 13y ago
      It is fun to consider extreme cases, but I am sure this has never come up before.
  • mvkel 13y ago
    If source you previously wrote is available on Github for anyone, would that pass? What if you built an incredibly successful plugin, like lightbox?
• Sniperfish 13y ago
  I think there's a slight distinction between using Rails and entering into a hackathon with the intention to port a recently developed app into a 'mobile' version?
• bigiain 13y ago
  And you didn't write the Ruby(|node|php|python|golang) interpreter either, or gcc/clang that compiled the interpreter, or the kernel that gcc relies on. (or the cpu microcode - it's turtles all the way down). Personally, I think the Upshot approach was a sleazy hack of the competition rules. On the other hand, with a $1 million prize, you'd have to be an idiot not to expect rules-lawyering to be at least as important in winning as a good idea…