

Show HN: I just launched Meta Trails a tool for the self taught developer - joshcrowder
http://www.metatrails.com/student

======
mgaphysics
I played around with the site, and I like it. I was able to quickly check off
skills that I have, and make an assessment of areas that I could potentially
focus on learning. I appreciated the fact that I can choose to learn the
additional skills using the recommendations provided, or any other platform I
desire and still credit myself for the skill achievement. Pretty straight
forward interface.

I happened to like the "gamification" of the UI. But mostly because it does
not muddy the value prop. It does not detract from what you can, or cannot do
to make a quick assessment and checklist. IMO, I do not need another no frills
site in my network. I already have a github, evernote, and many others. Bring
on the silly funness!

We talk about this alot in my office and there is always a mix of opinions. We
talk more about things like the ability for a user to customize the UI. It is
hard for me to understand why people spend so much time personalizing their
facebook or twitter page, instead of concentrating on posting good content.
But there are enough users that spend time doing it, to validate the format.

Keep the fluff, as long as it does not derail content objectives.

------
AtTheLast
I like the UI. Is there any chance of making a free world or free level I can
try out before I sign up? I'm not sure if requiring an account generates more
sign ups or scares people away. Looks like a cool product.

------
jpetersonmn
I wish there was a way to try it out a bit, or at least a video showing how it
works without having to sign up.

------
spydertennis
as a self taught developer ive never understood the point of gamifying the
process. building a real world application - dropping in user auth, image
upload, etc is far more rewarding than leveling up in some imaginary system.

that being said i welcome more tools for helping people learn to program.

~~~
joshcrowder
Hey - One of the founders here.

I generally agree. We built Meta Trails to track how well our new recruits are
progressing. We use Team Tree House and Code Academy to help them progress and
they're great resources, however my issue with them is they gamify the amount
of time spent watching the content. What we are doing is essentially creating
checklists for things like:

\- Can you create a function?

\- Can you invoke a function?

These are really yes / no questions and makes validating knowledge much
easier.

The design was really fun hack-day project although I have a feeling we may
re-think it as you aren't the first person to bring up the gamification part.

Thanks for your feedback!

------
richardbracchi
Love this product - join me all space cadets

