
“The State of the League”: MLH's 2018 Impact Report - theyCallMeSwift
https://stories.mlh.io/the-state-of-the-league-2018-ad7ff2b96c9a
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angersock
MLH kinda took the soul out of the hackathons they used to have at Rice. It
made hosting easier for the CS club, but the difference in the events from
before MLH to after MLH is notable.

It's more of an interactive jobs fair now. :(

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theyCallMeSwift
Swift from MLH here. Sorry to hear that you feel the hackathon at Rice has
changed for the worse. I can definitely understand where you're coming from.
Since I got involved in hackathons back in 2010 things have changed a lot!

Having spent plenty of time at non-MLH hackathons, I'd say the phenomenon
you're observing is actually a broader trend in hackathons, not something
specifically MLH is doing. The truth is, most of the sponsorship money that
funds these events comes from recruiters. Hackathons are also a hell of a lot
more effective for recruiting than job fairs for many companies. Naturally, a
huge influx of people focused on hiring hackers would impact the culture.

It's up to organizations like MLH to help preserve the good parts of hacker
culture while enabling it to naturally evolve over time. I like to think we're
doing some good work on that front, but there's always room for improvement
and feedback like yours drives that!

Thanks for being a part of the community! Feel free to drop me an email if you
ever want to chat about your feedback further or share additional ideas.

~~~
angersock
> _The truth is, most of the sponsorship money that funds these events comes
> from recruiters._

So that's the thing, right? These events used to be fueled by passion about
hacking. Then, at some point, MLH or a similar org says "Hey, we'll give you
support and more money for bigger events, you just have to adopt our culture."
Then otherwise interesting local and unique events, with local and unique buy-
in and community participation ( _actual_ community participation, not the
"community" bandied about by folks like you looking to astroturf what you're
doing), are scrubbed out because they aren't economically viable.

Orgs that sponsor hackathons for recruiting partnerships ruin these things,
and that's why hackathons are full of kids looking to win prizes and build
resumes instead of make cool things.

> _It 's up to organizations like MLH to help preserve the good parts of
> hacker culture while enabling it to naturally evolve over time._

It's up to the hackers. Orgs are just profiting off of it.

EDIT: Slightly less inflammatory tone.

