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A general comment, likely grounded more in my own frustration and : When did we become so concerned with awesome vacation getaways with code happening and less

A general comment, likely grounded more in my own frustration and : When did we become so concerned with awesome vacation getaways with code happening and less with, you know, programming? I think it's awesome that there are people who have the free money/time/resources/independence to go spend 12 weeks hacking in the tropics, but unless we see some baller results I can't help but shake the feeling this is an experience for trendy kids and not for the hardworking, overweight, overscheduled neckbeard. I hope you folks are able to publicize a bunch of cool stuff that comes out of this! That might give it a bit more street cred.

tptacek 12y ago
Are you sure the word "neckbeard" is really one you wanted to use here?
- notduncansmith 12y ago
  Yeah, I meet the overworked and overscheduled parts (and couldn't afford to spend a month hacking on open source in the tropics), but I'm not overweight and certainly don't have a neckbeard. I get that "neckbeard" is more of a cultural term than a literal one, but it seems like even that interpretation has taken on a more pejorative bent lately.
  - tptacek 12y ago
    I just meant that they may have inadvertently re-introduced gender into the discussion. "Neckbeard" is definitely a pejorative term, but that's not in itself a huge problem.
    - notduncansmith 12y ago
      Ah, I missed that subtle point. Very astute.
- angersock 12y ago
  Fair point, but given the trope I'm looking to invoke ( http://medriscoll.com/post/9117396231/the-guild-of-silicon-valley http://medriscoll.com/post/9117396231/the-guild-of-silicon-v... ), I'm okay with the baggage. Is there a female version of neckbeard? Or a gender-neutral word with the same connotations? I fear the obvious wordplay is offensive for the wrong reasons: neckbroad?
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
jiggy2011 12y ago
I had the same confusion, from their website it's not clear whether the demographic is likely to be novices looking to learn or whether it is for established freelancers etc wanting to work from Costa Rica for a while. Their website says that they encourage people to work mainly on open-source or fun projects but that would seem to rule out anyone with a family, a full time job or who wasn't already reasonably wealthy. It wouldn't surprise me if their demographics skewed weird for that reason alone. The age breakdown might be interesting, is this mainly retirees? Gap year students? People taking sabbaticals?
7Figures2Commas 12y ago
From the website: > It should be noted that this is NOT A VACATION. Participants are expected to work hard during "school hours," Monday - Thursday. > You are free to choose any project you like, ideally something you think will help you improve as a programmer. Participants are encouraged to work on open-source code and 'for-fun' projects, but they are also allowed to work on commercial projects, such as freelance work or startups. We also encourage participants to spend as much time as possible pair programming and collaborating with other people. > All included, we think participants could live frugally and get by on $3,500 for the three month period. However, a participant would have more flexibility with a budget of $4,000 - $5,000. Will anything "cool" come out of this? Who knows. But $5,000 for a three month trip hardly represents an expensive excursion to the tropics, and it appears that the intent is to put in place a structure that participants are expected to adhere to. What's the problem with that? It's not like the hackathons and "schools" in the United States are consistently churning out masterful feats of engineering. On another note, since when did you have to be overweight, unshaven and overworked to be considered a legitimate programmer? I didn't get that email.

tptacek 12y ago

Are you sure the word "neckbeard" is really one you wanted to use here?

notduncansmith 12y ago
Yeah, I meet the overworked and overscheduled parts (and couldn't afford to spend a month hacking on open source in the tropics), but I'm not overweight and certainly don't have a neckbeard. I get that "neckbeard" is more of a cultural term than a literal one, but it seems like even that interpretation has taken on a more pejorative bent lately.
- tptacek 12y ago
  I just meant that they may have inadvertently re-introduced gender into the discussion. "Neckbeard" is definitely a pejorative term, but that's not in itself a huge problem.
  - notduncansmith 12y ago
    Ah, I missed that subtle point. Very astute.
angersock 12y ago
Fair point, but given the trope I'm looking to invoke ( http://medriscoll.com/post/9117396231/the-guild-of-silicon-valley http://medriscoll.com/post/9117396231/the-guild-of-silicon-v... ), I'm okay with the baggage. Is there a female version of neckbeard? Or a gender-neutral word with the same connotations? I fear the obvious wordplay is offensive for the wrong reasons: neckbroad?
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

jiggy2011 12y ago

I had the same confusion, from their website it's not clear whether the demographic is likely to be novices looking to learn or whether it is for established freelancers etc wanting to work from Costa Rica for a while. Their website says that they encourage people to work mainly on open-source or fun projects but that would seem to rule out anyone with a family, a full time job or who wasn't already reasonably wealthy. It wouldn't surprise me if their demographics skewed weird for that reason alone. The age breakdown might be interesting, is this mainly retirees? Gap year students? People taking sabbaticals?

7Figures2Commas 12y ago

From the website: > It should be noted that this is NOT A VACATION. Participants are expected to work hard during "school hours," Monday - Thursday. > You are free to choose any project you like, ideally something you think will help you improve as a programmer. Participants are encouraged to work on open-source code and 'for-fun' projects, but they are also allowed to work on commercial projects, such as freelance work or startups. We also encourage participants to spend as much time as possible pair programming and collaborating with other people. > All included, we think participants could live frugally and get by on $3,500 for the three month period. However, a participant would have more flexibility with a budget of $4,000 - $5,000. Will anything "cool" come out of this? Who knows. But $5,000 for a three month trip hardly represents an expensive excursion to the tropics, and it appears that the intent is to put in place a structure that participants are expected to adhere to. What's the problem with that? It's not like the hackathons and "schools" in the United States are consistently churning out masterful feats of engineering. On another note, since when did you have to be overweight, unshaven and overworked to be considered a legitimate programmer? I didn't get that email.