4 ms·

That's all fine, but the author's points stand. They are a bit like LAN parties. Don't expect much more than that, and if that's what you want then it's all fi

by muyuu 12y ago

That's all fine, but the author's points stand. They are a bit like LAN parties. Don't expect much more than that, and if that's what you want then it's all fine. However, for getting stuff done they are not a good format and his criticisms are valid. OpenBSD hackathons ( http://www.openbsd.org/hackathons.html http://www.openbsd.org/hackathons.html )tick a few of the boxes though: + not competitive + for working on ongoing projects and known problems, rather than throwaway flashy toys + keep the "good" from regular hackathons ----- - still overwhelmingly for a certain demographic (particularly non-inclusive as they are invitation-only) - still likely to be not very healthy I've been to one of these, and although I did win, I don't think it's particularly useful other than for entertainment, meeting people, etc. Which admittedly are good goals on their own. But anything other than young males will likely feel increasingly excluded in these events.

protomyth 12y ago
"still overwhelmingly for a certain demographic (particularly non-inclusive as they are invitation-only)" Isn't the OpenBSD hackathons basically self-selected by being for people who contribute to the project. "still likely to be not very healthy" Given the trip reports from the last couple, they had a lot healthier (and funner) time than my last trip to Vegas. I seem to remember a hike as part of the events.
- muyuu 12y ago
  I think so, they look interesting but I haven't been to one so I cannot report. From the pics it seems to me that they're something like 90% male in their 20s-30s. I realise now that my other post was not very clear. I went to a "hackathon" but not an OpenBSD one.
  - protomyth 12y ago
    "From the pics it seems to me that they're something like 90% male in their 20s-30s" That's not a problem of a hackathon, its the basic demographic of contributions to open source.
    - muyuu 12y ago
      Yep well, it's the landscape of OSS and software development in general extending into the hackathon. Not something that should be policed IMO but many people would like a different landscape.
davidgerard 12y ago
her, but anyway.

by muyuu 12y ago

protomyth 12y ago

"still overwhelmingly for a certain demographic (particularly non-inclusive as they are invitation-only)" Isn't the OpenBSD hackathons basically self-selected by being for people who contribute to the project. "still likely to be not very healthy" Given the trip reports from the last couple, they had a lot healthier (and funner) time than my last trip to Vegas. I seem to remember a hike as part of the events.

muyuu 12y ago
I think so, they look interesting but I haven't been to one so I cannot report. From the pics it seems to me that they're something like 90% male in their 20s-30s. I realise now that my other post was not very clear. I went to a "hackathon" but not an OpenBSD one.
- protomyth 12y ago
  "From the pics it seems to me that they're something like 90% male in their 20s-30s" That's not a problem of a hackathon, its the basic demographic of contributions to open source.
  - muyuu 12y ago
    Yep well, it's the landscape of OSS and software development in general extending into the hackathon. Not something that should be policed IMO but many people would like a different landscape.

davidgerard 12y ago

her, but anyway.