

Do Something Meaningful - Coding for the World - willvarfar
http://williamedwardscoder.tumblr.com/post/18917120117/coding-for-the-world

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bglusman
Have you checked out Random Hacks of Kindness? (<http://rhok.org>) I had
similar ideas with a project of mine 6 or so months ago and built a
version/part of my idea at a startup weekend
(<https://github.com/bglusman/diffapp>) before I knew about RHoK... I'd still
like to do more with the idea, and am starting something hoping to help
scientific research in the next few days with Mendicant University, but there
are real coordination and management/leadership challenges I think... I had
some ideas on how to work on them with my app, but I think it's easy to
underestimate the problems.

Oh, also relevant is <http://codeforamerica.org>

~~~
marquis
rhok are fantastic, they have international meet-ups for coding weekends on
specific problems. highly recommended if you want to give some time without
making a long-term commitment.

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nathan_f77
I volunteer at a non-profit called Crossroads, in Hong Kong
(<http://crossroads.org.hk/>). I'm a Ruby on Rails programmer.

Our software department runs a website called 'Global Hand'
(<http://globalhand.org/en>), which is a matching service between businesses
who want to donate goods, and charities who need them. We created a similar
service for the UN, that matches business resources with needs from UN
organisations (<http://business.un.org/en>).

We _really_ do need more help. Please email [enquiries@globalhand.org] if you
have any Ruby on Rails or design skills and would like to donate some of your
time.

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BrandonMTurner
I think it is funny that the author suggests programmers should use their
hobby time to work on something actually meaningful. I feel like he discounted
billing systems and ecommerce in the process.

I have no problem with programmers working on other meaningful things during
their spare time if they choose. But what I struggle with is why programmers
don't work on meaningful projects during their time they dedicate to their
actual employment. I feel like I work on something very meaningful because I
have helped literately millions of people lose literally millions of pounds of
weight. More over, I think Square (a billing system) has helped thousands
(millions?) of merchants gain access to a new form payments for their goods
that they didn't have before. And Amazon (an ecommerce store) has brought
convenience to millions of consumers seeking fair prices for products they
want; not mention a new distribution channel for authors and merchants. Those
seem meaningful to me.

~~~
cdavoren
Well, not everyone has the opportunity or desire to be employed by one of the
"big guys". The programming equivalent of fixing someone's plumbing is not
going to change the world, but it lets you pay the bills, have a family, enjoy
your [other] hobbies, etc. Even if it is a choice, it's as much about
lifestyle as anything else.

I think this post is aimed at those people.

~~~
wtracy
> The programming equivalent of fixing someone's plumbing is not going to
> change the world

GP's claim is that it _does_ make a world of difference to some people. It
just isn't as immediately visible.

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vibrunazo
It's not hard to find an open-source project that needs help. I don't really
see the need for a centralized board for posting help requests. When it's
already so easy to find them. Just pick your favorite open source app and help
them out.

Unless I'm misunderstanding what the article means with "serious work".

~~~
azov
"It's not hard" is not good enough.

There are many capable coders that don't even know where to start. "Pick your
favorite open-source app"? Not everyone has a favorite open-source app. Not
all apps worth helping are open-source. With thousands of projects to pick
from it's easy to get overwhelmed. "And help them out"? What kind of help do
they need? Am I capable of helping them? Will it be interesting for me? Who do
I talk to and what should I say? How do I submit my changes? How do I make
sure my help is in line with their vision? Tons of questions. Yes, a smart
person should be able to figure all this out, but there's _a lot_ of friction
involved - especially for something that you do for free in your spare time.
There definitely is room for improving the process.

It shouldn't be "not that hard", it should be be dead simple.

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quicksilver03
You don't need to code to help a non-profit or a worthy cause, sometimes even
just setting up a WordPress blog and keeping it updated is enough.

I've started doing it for my rugby club and for a shelter for abandoned and
tortured cats, and it's much more satisfying than developing the Nth "business
rule".

------
linhir
I would look at <http://datawithoutborders.cc/> if you want a data science
element or <http://codeforamerica.org> if you want a more development angle.

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squarecat
Step 1) Compel owner of givhub.com to do something meaningful with their
domain.

Step 2) Humbly request the wizards of Github to port a suitable form of the
site suited to this endeavor.

Step 3) Contribute!

~~~
AznHisoka
What's wrong with just forking a project in Github instead?

~~~
squarecat
Sorry, I should have clarified the reasoning for my suggestion, that being
that there would be some sort of interaction/partnering with non- or semi-
technical contacts in these organizations that perhaps it would be helpful if
the functionality of Github had a friendlier, more approachable UI for such a
use.

Certainly, the developer(s) could simply use Github, so maybe Givhub is just a
glossy API wrapper rather than an independent instance?

~~~
willvarfar
(blog author)

Spot on what I was imagining too!

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mike_ando
Coming at it from the other direction, how would a scientist with an
interesting problem attract programmers to work on their project? Something
like RHOK specifically for scientists?

~~~
willvarfar
... givhub?

I'm working on it

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mvzink
I was similarly inspired, but by Steve Yegge's OSCON 2011 speech, and wrote
this: [http://mvz.so/blog/articles/2011-08-01-lend-a-hand-to-
scienc...](http://mvz.so/blog/articles/2011-08-01-lend-a-hand-to-science.html)

I like this proposal, and would probably lend significant time to it.

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rokhayakebe
I agree with doing something meaningful, but maybe engineers are better off
sticking to what they know. You are more likely to make lots of money doing
such things, earning lots of money, and pouring that money to solve other
problems. Think Bill Gates.

~~~
kaybe
So you make the money, donate it and then they use your money to hire you to
solve their problem? Minus tax. Uhm.

~~~
rokhayakebe
No. You make money selling fish because that is what you are great at. Then
you give the money to scientists who are great at finding cures.

