
Ask HN: What can programmers do to help with the coronavirus? - branislav
Apart from helping getting groceries or medicine for the quarantined, what can programmers do to help in this health crisis? How can we use our skills to aid the effort to prevent spreading of the virus, effort to help the affected or the effort to put the economy back on track when we&#x27;re through this?
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tmpz22
Realize this is a non-technical problem that won't be solved by an App with
location tracking and ad-based monetization model...

Follow the CDC advice, wash your hands, social distancing, encouraging smart
policies at your company. Avoid contact with the elderly and stop thinking
you're so smart surely YOU'RE the one who's going to solve this problem (with
your magical skillset to build CRUD apps).

~~~
tomjen3
This is the kind of argument I see from people who say things like "busses,
you invented busses".

Use tech skills to help people setup video conferencing so that more people
can be less emotionally isolated, while still be physically isolated.

Create a crud app where you can "trade grandmas" \- I help bring groceries to
your relatives nearby me, you help to bring some to my relatives near you.

This situation is serious we can no longer afford nihilists.

~~~
greenyoda
> Create a crud app where you can "trade grandmas" \- I help bring groceries
> to your relatives nearby me, you help to bring some to my relatives near
> you.

There could be unforeseen consequences of this, such as criminals using it to
find vulnerable people to rob. If you were a grandmother living alone, would
you be comfortable opening your door to a random person who found you on a web
site? Or would you rather trust a neighbor who lived in your own apartment
building?

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jka
\- Increased demand for food-at-home combined with reduced traffic on the
roads => sign up as a bicycle courier?

\- Social isolation of the elderly => provide TV/media installation help?

\- More spare time => relax, do a bit more reading, look at some software
projects you use and try to fix a random bug or two?

\- Risks to public health and healthcare => become well-informed, be on the
look out for misinformation online, and try to stay optimistic and good-
natured to help everyone through it

Although there's always a big temptation to hack on something huge and world-
changing (a new social platform, building healthcare equipment) -- it could be
more realistic to step back and do some smaller things in your community,
especially if they already know what help they need and are asking for
assistance.

------
danbolt
If you’re eating out or getting food delivered by a courier, tip extra if you
can.

Food service workers are exposed to many more people and typically lack the
salary/benefits programmers get. If they get infected by the virus or laid off
from economic slowdown the extra money will help them the most.

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mindcrime
Using tech skills specifically? Not a lot comes to mind right this minute.
Maybe if you're a licensed ham radio operator, join ARES[1] or RACES[2].

Outside of that, one way to help very directly, depending on where you live,
is to join a volunteer fire department / EMS squad. But not all areas are
covered by volunteer departments, and there's a lot of latency in terms of
training time to do a lot of things (eg, you can't just become an EMT
overnight). But there are always people needed around the station to do
maintenance on equipment, clean, help with paperwork, etc.

[1]: [http://www.arrl.org/ares](http://www.arrl.org/ares)

[2]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Amateur_Civil_Emergency_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Amateur_Civil_Emergency_Service)

------
guidovranken
With so many people in lockdown, the extent to which we depend on the internet
has probably never been so large, so the last thing we need is a global
internet outage. A wormable vulnerability spreading through operating systems,
web servers or web frameworks (to name a few) could put a serious strain on
society, to put it lightly. Also less complex attacks like denial-of-service
vectors in major internet software could have debilitating effects right now
if targeted against critical institutions like hospitals.

Everyone who can write code can read code and find bugs. The projects that are
in scope for the Google patch rewards program are a good starting point:
[https://www.google.com/about/appsecurity/patch-
rewards/](https://www.google.com/about/appsecurity/patch-rewards/)

------
wenc
It has also been suggested to me that some elderly/disadvantaged folks don't
have devices/Internet connectivity/tech savvy in order to be able to do remote
anything. (some grandmas still attend religious services or community groups
in person because they can't or don't know how to do it online)

Ideally their kids or caregivers could help with this, but not everyone is
tech savvy. There could be an opportunity here -- matching tech-savvy folks
with these folks. The trick is how to do it without personal contact.

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EnderMB
While I'm fully agree with the "this isn't a tech problem" comment, there are
indirect ways that people can help.

I think the biggest problems many are going to face aren't related to the
illness itself, but the effects of self-isolation and the outcomes, such as:

* Dealing with your loved ones getting sick or dying - online services to talk to others that are suffering or going through tough times would be good.

* Boredom - putting that "empty time" to good use by building your skills.

* Loneliness - providing a platform to utilise existing or new social networks to make people feel that they aren't alone.

* Volunteering - one of the biggest hit areas is going to be in elderly care, and to be honest it wouldn't be unsurprising to see care homes shut down and relatives being left to look after their relatives. Anything that can help people in these situations would be welcomed, whether it's supplies, stuff for people to do, etc.

* Aiding remote workers. For many, remote working is an alien concept, so if you've got experience in working from home in an optimal way create an in-depth guide to help others.

* Small gym relief funds - many gyms or martial arts schools have shut down, and many practitioners rely on teaching as their sole form of income. Building a relief fund for those small businesses would help tremendously, on the basis that it can be "paid forward" in the future through private lessons, online instructionals, etc.

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wenc
Maybe not programmers alone, but programmers working together with
business/finance/economics folks:

 _How do we help small businesses weather this?_

Gift cards have been suggested, and they work for some scalable businesses,
but not non-scalable ones with finite capacity. Barbershops for instance have
a finite number of appointment slots, so when people redeem their gift cards
in the future, they lose future income.

The question is: how do we creatively come up with a form of an
business/economic model that will help consumers help small businesses stay
afloat and sustainably ramp back up in the future?

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null4bl3
In a week or two. There will be a great need for volunteers when medical
personal have fallen ill themselves or are breaking down. Tolls to help
organize those volunteers could help put a lot.

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marcus-grant
Mutual aid is going to be crucial especially here in America where the
government has so fundamentally f __*ed up. I 'm currently thinking of ways to
make tools to help organize and facilitate the various kinds of aid we're
going to need, I'd love to hear people's suggestions

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buboard
We need an app that tracks any nearby (few meters) MAC address it encounters
and stores it on device. When someone finds out they are infected , they post
their address to a database online. People can check in every day to see if
they have been nearby the phone of an infected person

~~~
wenc
This does not work anymore due to MAC randomization by most newer devices.

------
lynx09
I am with other people that your magical skills aren’t going to wish the virus
away. Listen to medical professionals and practice social distancing. If you
want a related project, maybe crate a robot that allows you to further
practice social distancing.

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awareBrah
Create fun things for people to do online from home so that they stay home and
reduce spread

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scrollaway
I've been thinking of volunteering my consulting services at a local lab or
hospital. But I'm not sure how to go about it even. Once Monday rolls in I'll
try to make some calls.

(If anyone knows a place in need, feel free to email me. Brussels, BE)

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andrewfromx
i just posted
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22585852](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22585852)
with app idea we hackers could get live asap

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codingninjas
Bild software that helps (especially elderly) people avoid loneliness.

~~~
ta999999171
Second Life, Chat Roulette?

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Infiltrator
Clean their keyboards with alcohol-based wipes!

~~~
t312227
i would heavily recommend a soap-based solution:

"why does soap work so well on sars cov-2?"

* [https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1236549305189597189.html](https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1236549305189597189.html)

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pvaldes
Keep a distance of 5 parsecs minimum from your favourite holy cows in computer
science definitely would help. I understand that is difficult not jumping over
they at sight, but some are fragile (some are even valuable).

On the other hand, maybe your old computer science teacher would appreciate a
few kind words and some remote conversation online.

> "Due to Covid-19, the talks in Spain will not occur on the dates previously
> planned"

Rresspuista correcta, Señor Bond...

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kyawzazaw
Please take the time to reach out to local CS clubs and provide mentoring.

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sergiotapia
Nothing - tell people close to you to wash your hands, and chill at home as
much as possible. You can't nodejs your way out of this.

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nuc1e0n
Design 3D printed respirators?

