

Idea: site to match hackers with short-term one-off gigs - Zak

I alternate between being a lighting designer for a band and writing software for money. I get most of my work off of Craigslist's computer gigs section, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult, and I don't think it's just a matter of economic conditions.<p>Sites like Craigslist, Rentacoder and Elance are flooded with posts offering unreasonably low pay, as well as responses from offshore sweatshops that produce exceedingly bad code[0]. Posters have taken to hiding "put foo in the subject so I don't have to read spam" on Craigslist due to the overwhelming response to ANY ad. I think there might be room for something a little more exclusive.<p>My initial concept for this is that hackers would be screened for membership. It wouldn't be a high bar - a link to a HN account associated with a few sensible comments, a blog, a github account or similar would be enough to establish credibility. The site would also be policed a little more as far as postings go. One idea is to use a flagging system that can cause posts to be moved, and to have sections like "work for equity" and "work for pay".<p>[0] An example from an actual project I fixed after it was initially created by such a sweatshop can be seen here: http://paste.lisp.org/display/76132
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cperciva
_Sites like Craigslist, Rentacoder and Elance are flooded with posts offering
unreasonably low pay, as well as responses from offshore sweatshops that
produce exceedingly bad code_

Hiring a programmer on one of those sites is like hiring a lawyer (or
accountant or interior decorator) out of the Yellow Pages. Sure, some people
do it; but if you want someone good, you're much better off asking your
friends and colleagues to recommend someone -- because the people you'll find
in the Yellow Pages are predominantly those who don't get enough business from
customer referrals to fill their hours.

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monad22
I wish it was as easy as finding a lawyer. It's not hard getting a good
reference from your divorce attorney for someone who does personal injury.
I've reached six or seven programmers in my search for a web developer and
none of them could put me in contact with someone can do what I need. Not to
mention someone enthusiastic for a new start-up. Lawyers are always open for
business.

~~~
Zak
What is it you need? Maybe someone here knows somebody (or is that somebody).

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staticshock
Although a potentially good idea, a lot of its dynamics remain pretty vague.
What can differentiate this hypothetical site from a Rentacoder/Elance type
site? A more rigorous vetting process before you're allowed to become a
contractor?

~~~
Zak
I want the site to be far more centered around attracting high-quality
programmers and gigs. I suspect the differences would be more social than
technical, though I certainly don't envision imposing the sort of process
constraints Rentacoder does.

My idea is to be the Hacker News of freelancing sites, while the others are
Digg and reddit. I have no idea if I can pull it off - right now, I'm just
wondering if there's any interest.

