The Decline of Reddit, Hacker News, and the United States

For those not aware,
Hacker Dojos
are local groups found in high-tech areas that get many people together and
have them code–or learn to code–together. The idea is that you describe your
strengths and interests, and the organizer pairs people up to work on
projects.

The problem is that some people are fundamentally confused about what this
means. It does not mean, for example, that non-technical project managers
can come in and find people to implement their ideas while they watch and
give feedback on how it should be done.

People like this will face a very predictable situation: they’ll get some
play from one or two people the first time they come, for a short amount of
time each, and once the group figures out what they are they’ll be
ostracized.

Let me clarify. If someone is a project manager who’s tired of needing
coders and he comes in after studying the basics for a couple of weeks–with
the intention of learning how to code his own app–then saddle up: that’s
what these dojos are for.

But if that project manager has no interest whatsoever in becoming
technical, and thinks he’s going to find some coder there to make his idea
work, that’s going to be a, “No.”

Here’s an example: someone walks into the one I went to earlier and the
following dialog ensues:

Meaning, “I thought you’d be done with this by now. Why are we still talking
about what I do and don’t know?”

This is not his fault. He wasn’t being malicious. This is on the organizer.
The head of these dojos need to make it very clear that
novice coders are more than welcome, but you have to be willing learn
the basics before coming, and to plan on getting dirty.

Dojos are not places for “idea people” to come and assign work to hackers.
If you’re an organizer, please make this distinction clear. And the next
time you see this type of thing happening at a Dojo, take the time to
educate the person who’s misguided.

Remember, they haven’t done anything wrong. Just make it clear that this is
for people who want to spend weeks/months/years learning this beautiful
craft, and that if that’s not their thing then they’re going to be better
served by eLance.

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