5 ms·

This is awesome. I'll definitely become an avid player, right after I contribute meaningfully to several open source projects, have an active GitHub profile, wh

This is awesome. I'll definitely become an avid player, right after I contribute meaningfully to several open source projects, have an active GitHub profile, while keeping my Stack Overflow reputation high, and having a fleshed out CodeCombat profile, and of course making sure my LinkedIn page is up to snuff. I hope when I get this awesome job my employer doesn't mind me keeping all my profiles updated on company hours!

tptacek 12y ago
http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/2yhcqn/were_not_here_to_fix_the_technical_interview_were/cpafpkb?context=3 http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/2yhcqn/were_not...
- pjungwir 12y ago
  I especially like your point there that this will highlight people who don't have a spectacular Github profile. Lots of people complain that they have a great track record writing proprietary code and the recent focus on Github profiles is unhelpful to them. Hopefully a Starfighter score, compared to a Github profile, is more fun to develop, less intimidating to share, more meaningful when still "unfinished", more digestible by hiring staff, less entangled with employer IP, and perhaps most importantly requires less "vision" to get started.
  - tptacek 12y ago
    We're also not an information source for employers; they can't "query" us for all their candidates to get scores. Anything we ever share is opt-in. We expect most of our participants not to opt-in.
bitwize 12y ago
Don't forget to have had a >3.5 GPA from a top university!
- mahmud 12y ago
  Even if you have been working for the last 15+ years (hopefully you don't have gray hair)
- tptacek 12y ago
  This is an especially weird snark to offer on this particular thread, as I have a single semester of liberal arts, and Erin is an audio engineer; only Patrick has a CS degree, and it isn't from Stanford.
ditonal 12y ago
No CodeJam victories or at the top of the TopCoder leaderboard? Extensive Coursera certificates? No-hire. Plus I'm beginning to doubt that you've even solved several Project Euler problems in a variety of functional programming languages.
- Dewie 12y ago
  He probably hasn't even implemented a brainfuck interpreter in Scala's type system.
  - Dewie 12y ago
    I'm sorry: type checker.
waterlesscloud 12y ago
The idea here is that this will remove the need for pretty much all of that. My read on it is that it's meant to be an entirely new replacement funnel, not an additional one. They're going to have a tough road ahead of them selling everyone on that idea, both employers and potential employees. But if they get some high profile success stories, it's possible. Hiring is faddish, there's no reason these guys can't leverage that to their benefit. Personally, I think it's really cool they're trying this. And that the two HN posters I disagree with the most often (maybe because they post so often) are the ones doing a startup I think is really interesting. They've chosen a domain area that can have huge leverage effects on the industry as a whole (and thus the economy as a whole) if it works. I dunno if they're thinking of it like that, or would admit it if they are, but it's one of those frighteningly ambitious ideas.
- thomasjames 12y ago
  "There are too many competing standards for x, so we are proud to announce a new standard, which will supersede all existing x standards and unify everything." -The founders of every competing standard ever introduced for anything in the history of things.
  - waterlesscloud 12y ago
    And sometimes it works out that way.
    - thomasjames 12y ago
      Yup, ever since I started using XML for every task imaginable I never looked back.
      - saraid216 12y ago
        <HN::Comment> <Paragraph> <Sentence> <Interjection>Yup</Interjection> <Connector>,</Connector> <Subject>I</Subject> <VerbPhrase> <Verb>looked</Verb> <ModifyingAdverb>never</ModifyingAdverb> <Object>back</Object> </VerbPhrase> <Sarcasm> <PrepositionPhrase> <Preposition>ever since</Preposition> <Sentence> <Subject>I</Subject> <VerbPhrase> <Verb Tense="past">started</Verb> <Object> <Sentence> <VerbPhrase> <Verb Tense="infinitive">using</Verb> <Object>XML</Object> <PrepositionPhrase> <Preposition>for</Preposition> <Object> <Noun>task</Noun> <ModifyingAdjective>every</ModifyingAdjective> <ModifyingAdjective>imaginable</ModifyingAdjective> </Object> </PrepositionPhrase> </VerbPhrase> </Sentence> </Object> </VerbPhrase> </Sentence> </PrepositionPhrase> </Sarcasm> </Sentence> </Paragraph> </HN::Comment> Fixed that for you.
soup10 12y ago
Seriously, this might be relevant to fresh out of college grads with no industry experience. But I have nothing to prove and see this kind of stuff as a waste of time. Why waste my efforts on contrived competitions when I can put them into projects that actually interest me.
- cpach 12y ago
  ”Why waste my efforts on contrived competitions when I can put them into projects that actually interest me.” How do we know it’s contrived and competitive? Keep in mind that we’re discussing a ”game” that’s not even released yet.
  - woah 12y ago
    A game is by definition contrived, no?
    - cpach 12y ago
      Why the tautology then? ;-)
- pcg 12y ago
  For me this is definitely entertainment. Having completed μC in lieu of plenty of sleep I'm honestly a little anxious about how this release will affect my productivity. I'm not looking, but if they offer to replace my interesting, very gainful employment with similar then I promise not to hate them whatever I decide.
cpach 12y ago
Can we have real arguments instead of snark, please? Are you satisfied with they way hiring works today? If not, how do you propose it could be improved?
- MichaelGG 12y ago
  I agree with you (and really am looking forward to Starfighter and don't share the GP's), but I'd like to point out that your answer is sort of incorrect. I can launch a stupid idea aimed at, say, world peace. People can reasonably mock my stupid idea, while not being able to find a solution. E.g if I propose stacking rocks in order to reach Mars, a dismissive, snarky, comment may be warranted. Honestly, if it was Monster or Oracle behind this instead of well-known awesome people, I'd be as skeptical as the GP.
  - scrollaway 12y ago
    But this is not "stacking rocks to reach Mars". This is a complete unknown where we can't reasonably tell the outcome in advance.
    - cpach 12y ago
      Exactly.

tptacek 12y ago

http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/2yhcqn/were_not_here_to_fix_the_technical_interview_were/cpafpkb?context=3 http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/2yhcqn/were_not...

pjungwir 12y ago
I especially like your point there that this will highlight people who don't have a spectacular Github profile. Lots of people complain that they have a great track record writing proprietary code and the recent focus on Github profiles is unhelpful to them. Hopefully a Starfighter score, compared to a Github profile, is more fun to develop, less intimidating to share, more meaningful when still "unfinished", more digestible by hiring staff, less entangled with employer IP, and perhaps most importantly requires less "vision" to get started.
- tptacek 12y ago
  We're also not an information source for employers; they can't "query" us for all their candidates to get scores. Anything we ever share is opt-in. We expect most of our participants not to opt-in.

bitwize 12y ago

Don't forget to have had a >3.5 GPA from a top university!

mahmud 12y ago
Even if you have been working for the last 15+ years (hopefully you don't have gray hair)
tptacek 12y ago
This is an especially weird snark to offer on this particular thread, as I have a single semester of liberal arts, and Erin is an audio engineer; only Patrick has a CS degree, and it isn't from Stanford.

ditonal 12y ago

No CodeJam victories or at the top of the TopCoder leaderboard? Extensive Coursera certificates? No-hire. Plus I'm beginning to doubt that you've even solved several Project Euler problems in a variety of functional programming languages.

Dewie 12y ago
He probably hasn't even implemented a brainfuck interpreter in Scala's type system.
- Dewie 12y ago
  I'm sorry: type checker.

waterlesscloud 12y ago

The idea here is that this will remove the need for pretty much all of that. My read on it is that it's meant to be an entirely new replacement funnel, not an additional one. They're going to have a tough road ahead of them selling everyone on that idea, both employers and potential employees. But if they get some high profile success stories, it's possible. Hiring is faddish, there's no reason these guys can't leverage that to their benefit. Personally, I think it's really cool they're trying this. And that the two HN posters I disagree with the most often (maybe because they post so often) are the ones doing a startup I think is really interesting. They've chosen a domain area that can have huge leverage effects on the industry as a whole (and thus the economy as a whole) if it works. I dunno if they're thinking of it like that, or would admit it if they are, but it's one of those frighteningly ambitious ideas.

thomasjames 12y ago
"There are too many competing standards for x, so we are proud to announce a new standard, which will supersede all existing x standards and unify everything." -The founders of every competing standard ever introduced for anything in the history of things.
- waterlesscloud 12y ago
  And sometimes it works out that way.
  - thomasjames 12y ago
    Yup, ever since I started using XML for every task imaginable I never looked back.
    - saraid216 12y ago
      <HN::Comment> <Paragraph> <Sentence> <Interjection>Yup</Interjection> <Connector>,</Connector> <Subject>I</Subject> <VerbPhrase> <Verb>looked</Verb> <ModifyingAdverb>never</ModifyingAdverb> <Object>back</Object> </VerbPhrase> <Sarcasm> <PrepositionPhrase> <Preposition>ever since</Preposition> <Sentence> <Subject>I</Subject> <VerbPhrase> <Verb Tense="past">started</Verb> <Object> <Sentence> <VerbPhrase> <Verb Tense="infinitive">using</Verb> <Object>XML</Object> <PrepositionPhrase> <Preposition>for</Preposition> <Object> <Noun>task</Noun> <ModifyingAdjective>every</ModifyingAdjective> <ModifyingAdjective>imaginable</ModifyingAdjective> </Object> </PrepositionPhrase> </VerbPhrase> </Sentence> </Object> </VerbPhrase> </Sentence> </PrepositionPhrase> </Sarcasm> </Sentence> </Paragraph> </HN::Comment> Fixed that for you.

soup10 12y ago

Seriously, this might be relevant to fresh out of college grads with no industry experience. But I have nothing to prove and see this kind of stuff as a waste of time. Why waste my efforts on contrived competitions when I can put them into projects that actually interest me.

cpach 12y ago
”Why waste my efforts on contrived competitions when I can put them into projects that actually interest me.” How do we know it’s contrived and competitive? Keep in mind that we’re discussing a ”game” that’s not even released yet.
- woah 12y ago
  A game is by definition contrived, no?
  - cpach 12y ago
    Why the tautology then? ;-)
pcg 12y ago
For me this is definitely entertainment. Having completed μC in lieu of plenty of sleep I'm honestly a little anxious about how this release will affect my productivity. I'm not looking, but if they offer to replace my interesting, very gainful employment with similar then I promise not to hate them whatever I decide.

cpach 12y ago

Can we have real arguments instead of snark, please? Are you satisfied with they way hiring works today? If not, how do you propose it could be improved?

MichaelGG 12y ago
I agree with you (and really am looking forward to Starfighter and don't share the GP's), but I'd like to point out that your answer is sort of incorrect. I can launch a stupid idea aimed at, say, world peace. People can reasonably mock my stupid idea, while not being able to find a solution. E.g if I propose stacking rocks in order to reach Mars, a dismissive, snarky, comment may be warranted. Honestly, if it was Monster or Oracle behind this instead of well-known awesome people, I'd be as skeptical as the GP.
- scrollaway 12y ago
  But this is not "stacking rocks to reach Mars". This is a complete unknown where we can't reasonably tell the outcome in advance.
  - cpach 12y ago
    Exactly.