YouTube introduces channel memberships, merchandise and premieres - <AUTHOR> https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/21/youtube-introduces-channel-memberships-merchandise-and-premieres/ <comment><USER2> Strategy-wise, it makes sense that they're cloning Patreon & Twitch features to keep people on the platform, but I think YouTube is going to need to innovate further if they want creators to trust them with their entire monetization strategy (i.e. ads, subscriptions, merch).

Patreon is significantly investing in creators and building tools to help them grow their online businesses. [1] It feels like YouTube wants to be too many things and has lost focus on empowering creators.

Also, $4.99 feels too steep – many people only give $1-2 on Patreon. And we'll have to see if the subscription recurs the same day of the month you subscribed or if it's aggregated to the start of the month like Patreon.

[1]: [https://blog.patreon.com/manage-and-track-what-you- deliver-t...](https://blog.patreon.com/manage-and-track-what-you-deliver-to- patrons)

<comment><USER3> > Also, $4.99 feels too steep – many people only give $1-2 on Patreon.

It's a copy of Twitch's subscription model, which is also $4.99 a month per channel and gives similar perks like emoticons.

A lot of content creators migrated to Twitch because a reliable fan-base giving you (a part of) $5/month/person is very attractive in comparison to Youtube's fickle advertising CPM and algorithm which determines who gets which videos in his feed.

<comment><USER4> From what I've gathered, a great deal of the money flowing through Twitch is from "whales", to whom $5 seems like a pittance because they drop 100x that a day in tips. Maybe replicating that phenomena on youtube will work.

<comment><USER5> Yup, that's what I've seen too. There are a few people who seem to gift hundreds of people $5 one-month subscriptions every month.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> This makes sense. Creators have been including patreon plugs and ad copy in their videos to circumvent demonization and ad blockers for a while. This was obviously cutting YouTube out and they clearly wanted a piece of that pie back.

It's not a bad idea to move these things into their platform, assuming they don't move to ban creators from having their own ads and 3rd party stores.

Personally I enjoy some of the silly and unique ads some youtubers make. I also enjoy that they are -broadcast- to all the viewers, not based on my cookies and history like official ads on the platform.

<comment><USER7> It makes sense, but I don't think it'll work when you consider the full picture. Youtube got in trouble with advertisers and the news media for making money and showing ads on unacceptable content. Their response was the ad- pocalypse.

Those patreon plugs and ad copy came because youtube has a capricious and nasty AI system that will nuke your monetization.

Youtube having those features doesn't fix the problem because it'll still demonetize at the drop of a hat, it'll still ban and hide people. The advantage of those other monetization strategies was that it means you can make money from your videos without relying directly on youtube.

So whilst it might look like the same thing, in reality this doesn't solve the problems that content creators have.

<comment><USER6> I'm inclined to agree, YouTube just doesn't have any good faith left at this point

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> It's too little too late. At this point many people have realized that as a content creator, you simply don't want to be in the hands of these platforms.

Not allowing creators to set the price of the subscription, taking 30% of it while still running adds those are huge constraints for creators.

Sill nothing beats creating your own website, and taking the recurring payments directly with Stripe. Plus having a mailing list and build a direct relationship with your supporters without the need for a middleman.

The same goes for Patreon, these massively centralized platforms are taking away revenue of creators by luring them into a ready to use service, while in fact building your own website is much more sustainable in the long term.

<comment><USER9> More sustainable? Maybe for creators with huge user bases that have enough revenue to be able to afford the development and maintenance costs of running a website.

Not to mention, as a user, the absolute LAST thing I want is to manage my content on dozens of different sites. Being able to "subscribe" to my favourite 5-6 creators on YouTube means I can now manage those all in a single location and get a single bill, and get all my content from one place. I have no desire to check each site out individually for new content. I also don't want to have to try to figure out what the heck that random charge on my Visa is, only to realize I've been paying someone $X/m for months on end without ever watching their content simply because I forgot about it (or maybe the creator stopped posting, out of sight, out of mind).

<comment><USER8> There are online video + ebook hosting platforms like Thinkific or Teachable that allow you to do that without the need for custom development, those are turnkey solutions.

Typically there are only a few subjects for each one given person is willing to pay for content, because we typically have only 2 to 3 major interests that we really want to dive deeper into at any given time.

It depends on the type of content, if its for example chess lessons then a membership site makes sense, its a never ending subject.

If its high-value educational content then it makes much more sense to build your own website, rather than be dependent of these platforms.

Historically, content creators have always been exploited by the middleman that gets the lion share of the profit, and because of that there is a lot of content that never got created not because it does not have a market, but because its unsustainable to creators due to the middleman and their control of the relationship with consumers.

The internet does allow us to remove the middleman for the case of lots of content creators, but instead, people are spending a lot of time and energy trying to make it in these platforms only for them to change the rules every two years.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> The fact that it's a _fixed price per month_ service is ridiculous. Do they think it doesn't matter how long the videos are, what the quality of the content is, or the quantity?

But then of course, I remember that they used to have (and for all I know may still have) this internal policy where if you don't upload regularly (IIRC the rule was once a week and at least half an hour) your subscribers were less likely to be notified of new videos.

A flat fee means that content creators are encouraged (yet again) to upload more videos, because otherwise most people will not consider five bucks a month worth the price.

One of the things that makes the Internet in general special, and by extension YouTube as well, is that niche topics can find an audience. This policy actively hurts the niche content creator who only uploads once every few months.

I honestly do not understand their apparent insistence on turning everything into either a carrot or stick to get content creators to upload _more_ videos, regardless of whether the type of content in question needs it. There is more video material uploaded per second than anyone can watch in a lifetime already! Why not focus on encouraging quality instead?

<comment><USER11> I don't think so. I'd pay someone a monthly amount even if they didn't post every few months if the content was much better off for it and if it brought some overall value to me. I rather have quality videos than rushed and stressful content.

<comment><USER12> Counterpoint - the channels I support on Patreon release videos only when they're good and ready. Completely fine with me, and I prefer a creator earn twice as much when they produce twice as many good videos. Also, creators deserve time off. Say a channel like Every Frame A Painting, that released 2 videos in its last 2 years of existence. Supporters had pledged $7k per video whenever they released it, but if it had been $7k per month, I can imagine some supporters feeling miffed two years later that they had paid for 'nothing'.

Right now, the barrier to pledging on Patreon is low. You don't need to worry about how many videos they're likely to make in the future or how often they'll release it. You don't need to audit your pledges to check if there are any channels that are simply collecting passive revenue. Pay per video and you'll get exactly what you pay for.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> This has been on the horizon for years now, and the changes will probably be mostly beneficial to the community and creators, but I can't help but feel something essential has been lost. Youtube, to me, seems like something of a weathervane for the state of the web, and this step towards a truly commercial service represents the internet as a whole's move from community to corporate.

<comment><USER14> Other than the Teespring partnership, this is largely just aping Twitch.

And I don't know if you've been in the average Twitch chat, but it doesn't scream corporate to me. I think Obi-Wan said it best:

> _You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy_

<comment><USER15> Heh, 4chan and _Youtube comments_ are close competitors :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Will youtube penalize creators who choose to use third party merchandising companies unaffiliated with youtube? After the stunt they pulled with Blender, I wouldn't trust them not to.

<comment><USER16> > After the stunt they pulled with Blender

Everyone seems pretty up-in-arms over that, but the longer I sit on it, the less I really care. If Blender approaches some random company tomorrow for video hosting, and was presented with a contract that required ads to support the hosting costs and turned down the deal because of that, we wouldn't vilify that company, their business model requires hosting be paid for in some manner.

Everyone is treating Youtibe differently because a) it was previously free for Blender, and b) we're all used to it being "free" to host stuff on Youtube. In the end, that's irrelevant, because that's in the past, and there's no contract.

Really, Blender should just thank Youtube for the years of free hosting they got out of it, and seek a hosting solution that better fits their needs. Youtube is _clearly_ heading a specific direction, and if Blender is very explicitly opting out of that design, it's to be expected eventually there would be a parting.

That's not to say we all should just be happy with Youtube and continue to watch and use it. If as a consumer you don't like advertising and aren't willing to pay for their ad-free service, avoiding it when possible is the clearest possible signal you can send that you want to support other types of content and revenue models. And as a bonus, we'll get an ecosystem which isn't so heavily weighted towards Youtube, and more options in general.

Blender leaving is a _good thing_. I wish there were a lot less cries along the lines of "the near-monopoly in video that I use doesn't want to host this company I believe in, I wish they would just host it!" and a lot more along the lines of "oh good, now maybe we'll see even more content being spread around so there's more competition."

<comment><USER17> Services like YouTube portray themselves as platforms, not record labels. Individualised, private requirements and restrictions for channels (with no notice!) goes against all of that.

This is like Apple emailing you, "hey, your free app is costing us too much money in bandwidth. Add IAP, or we're deleting your app in 24 hours."

If YouTube wants to require large channels to enable monetisation, it should standardise this policy, and give reasonable notice; not suddenly disabling a channel.

\---

Note that all of this is moot, because apparently Blender being disabled is an error: [https://www.blender.org/media-exposure/youtube-blocks- blende...](https://www.blender.org/media-exposure/youtube-blocks-blender- videos-worldwide/)

<comment><USER16> > Services like YouTube portray themselves as platforms, not media companies.

Is the implication there that "platform" means there's no rules? Because that's clearly not the case on any platform, and if there are rules, I'm not sure what specific difference you're trying to call out. I suspect it's something to to with freedom of choice or money, but I'm not exactly sure how to reply without knowing where you're going with that.

> Individualised, private requirements and restrictions for channels goes > against all of that.

Just because we've only heard of one or a few cases, doesn't mean it's individualized. It could very well be that if oyu hit some threshold of content serving costs they require it be paid for in some manner.

If I wanted to upload every public domain movie I could fine and then heavily promote them, but refused all monetization by Youtube, should they be forced to allow that? Should they be demonized for disallowing what to their eyes is likely me clearly abusing their system?

> If YouTube wants to require large channels to enable monetisation, it should > advertise this policy, and give reasonable notice; not suddenly disabling a > channel.

If that's what you want, you want a contract. If you want a contract, you generally pay for the luxury. If you're running a business, or a professional organization of some sort, or even if you just want assurance things won't change on your, you get a contract.

Blender had to deal with a day of figuring out new hosting and changing some webpage links, and all they got in exchange was a few years of free very high quality hosting up to that point. Certainly, they got the short end of the stick, right?

> Note that all of this is moot, because apparently Blender being disabled is > an error

Like I said, _contracts_. Whether it's an error or not, now Blender truly knows how important the video hosting is or is not to them, and whether it's worth switching still, or at a a minimum setting up a secondary video host they can switch to very quickly if needed, but costs very little or nothing until used.

<comment><USER18> While it is fine for Google to require monetization, since you are right that it does cost money to host video, I think you are missing the reason people got upset. They provide an option in the channel mgmt UI to turn off ads, and they changed their minds without any warning. Had they given blender a month or 2 to change this setting, I expect people would have been less upset. If it's such a problem for them, then why do they offer the option to disable ads in the first place? This is just another example of YouTube acting capriciously, which doesn't do much to encourage people to trust even more of their revenue to them.

<comment><USER16> > I think you are missing the reason people got upset. ... They provide an > option in the channel mgmt UI to turn off ads, and they changed their minds > without any warning. Had they given blender a month or 2 to change this > setting, I expect people would have been less upset.

 _Less_ upset likely, but still upset. My interpretation of most the comments I saw is that the immediacy spurred them to post their feelings, but their feelings seemed heavily weighted towards being upset by Google taking any action at all.

I think people are too caught up in it being a big company and an open source project. Really, it's just two parties, and if you can't substitute other examples and come to the same conclusion, there needs to be an examination of _specifically_ what makes it different, and whether that's valid. If I colocated a server and had fairly cheap bandwidth costs and agreed to host someone's videos for free, if I then decided a year later that this is costing me far too much, how much time am I required to give that person before disabling the serving of the videos? Every moment they are still up costs me real money, and the other party has paid nothing, _ever_. I can be _nice_ and give them some time, but my niceness costs me money. Should I feel bad for disabling hosting immediately? Presumably, if it was really important, they have a backup method for serving and weren't basing everything on some ad-hoc free service, right?

I would feel perfectly fine disabling hosting immediately for them. Why should I expect differently of Youtube?

> If it's such a problem for them, then why do they offer the option to > disable ads in the first place?

Maybe for 99.999% of channels exposure and bandwidth aren't large enough to really matter, but they want to police that 0.001% and either move them towards being profitable (or closer to break-even), or get them off the platform? The correct way to handle a subgroup that small (or smaller even) may well be to change their behavior or get rid of them. The overhead of making special accounts types and keeping track of any special behavior they require as development goes on and any bugs that might produce could very well outweigh the benefits of that account type existing.

The truth is, there's no reason to expect Youtube will, or should continue any behavior they do today tomorrow, much less a year or more in the future, unless you're paying them on some contract which ensures this.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> $4.99 is pretty steep. Joining just two channels will cost about the same as a Spotify, Apple Music or Netflix subscription - more in the latter case. If they introduced a $10 unlimited membership of as many channels as you want, or maybe up to 5 channels or something, that would be interesting.

<comment><USER20> This is a thing that has been done on Twitch for several years now. The 4.99 isn't really a subscription, it is a recurring donation. You might get some things like special emoji or a symbol next to your name but that is it. The purpose is not to be able to view the content, it is to directly support the streamer/YouTuber.

When I was on Twitch streaming the ad revenue just wasn't worth it as most of our people were running ad blockers anyway. We also didn't like showing ads. So we just didn't make money as I really wasn't trying to make a living on it anyway. But some of my friends from that community had a lot of subs and I am sure if I put it on we would have had a bunch as we had some dedicated fans. I just didn't like pandering. Unfortunately this is going to become a thing on YT now, but it is nice to provide support other than ads.

<comment><USER21> I still feel like it's a high amount when it's the only option. I'd happily pay £10/month to split between the channels I'm subscribed to, or £2/month to a few good channels. I don't feel like I get any more value out of YouTube compared to e.g Netflix or Spotify, so I don't want to spend more than I spend on those, but I do feel like it's worth contributing some money towards the creators.

I guess your point stands about it being a donation, more for dedicated fans that want to support their favourite creators. But I feel like there are plenty of people with similar opinions to mine and the parent poster - I'd happily pay a similar price to a Netflix/Spotify subscription to YouTube, if the money was going towards creators of good content. But I'm not as interested in giving £5/month to specific channels.

Of course, almost all decent creators have Patreons these days, so I should probably go and put my money where my mouth is...

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Given how hostile YouTube has been to creators, I won't be supporting creators through their platform.

<comment><USER23> Hell, the crap they've been pulling with the recommendation algorithms and subscriptions that creators have been complaining about also messes with the consumers. I get so much crap I'm not interested in displayed when I open YouTube up compared to a year or two ago, and I've been watching more content than ever so it's not like Google doesn't have a good profile on me. All it takes is watching one video outside my normal fields of interest and my front page is flooded with similar ones I have no interest in watching, it's ridiculous.

Anyway, I already pay for YouTube Premium, if I'm going to give anything extra to content creators beyond the chunk of that Google divides among them I'm not going to do it through the platform that's actively hostile to the people creating the videos I'm watching.

<comment><USER24> using the 'i'm not interested' flag on recommendations works reasonably well for culling subjects from your feed. not that i'm defending the recommendations in general, it's shocking how abysmal they can be.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> Youtube is home to some of the most prominent content creators on the web. Google has obviously noticed that those content creators have been slowly embracing Twitch, and Patreon. It's a smart move to integrate comparable services into their platform.

<comment><USER26> On the other hand if they play catch-up too much then why not just switch to the platform(s) they're catching-up to. This move makes them look weak

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> YouTube does not want to be your tube anymore. I can understand that it has become a risky business with increasing laws to censor the Internet ant to enforce Copyright.

YouTube wants to be NetFlix. It is a more business friendly model. It does not need to deal with a million creators but a few thousand easy to handle ones.

To give more services to the professional layer while starving the social- media side of it is a trend that has been going for some time now.

</comment><comment><USER28> Oh cool so now when YouTube's RNG filter system bans your channel you also get to lose your following and funding.

<comment><USER29> This is a real, relevant and scary thing.

Very real, even for huge content creators, that can - on a whim - get their butts handed to them.

<comment><USER30> Look no further than how Google treats their Adsense users/customers than to see how much they care about banning you and taking your money (they don't care.) And good luck appealing it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> I don't know why they didn't do this immediately after Patreon started showing up all over twitch maybe 3-4 years ago, even if only so they could get a cut.

</comment><comment><USER32> So, one day after Instagram introduces IGTV to keep creators on their platform, YouTube jumps in with their attempt of keeping people on their platform? YouTube has been pushing creators like Blender forcefully monetise their videos.

Today creators complain about burnout and abuse from their subscribers. Now with a corporate angle stepping in, they might be worked even harder to ensure their income streams are secured and fluent. Coming years might be the worst years of being a creator.

<comment><USER16> With paid memberships, content creators may feel they are a le to take time between videos to put out a more polished product, as their revenue stream is not nearly as tied to getting a certain number of views, being over 10 minutes long (and paddi g with filler to hit that as needed) and keeping from accidentally being demonetized.

It's easy to assume that this is "more corporate" and thus _must_ be worse for everyone else, but that's lazy. It's a compiles topic, it deserves complex thought.

</comment></comment><comment><USER33> I'm surprised it took them this long to add memberships. Although, with how rocky their relationship has seemed to be creators in recent times, they may have trouble winning some people over from Patreon. That said, they do have the obvious wins of convenience and tighter integration.

</comment><comment><USER34> It's the second time that I click "back" because of the idiotic Oath GDPR thing.

Either I accept it, or I can't visit the page. I don't see what GDPR has to do with reading an article, and/or why they won't let me read it unless I agree to whatever is they want me to do.

</comment><comment><USER35> YouTube has dug themselves a hole and this method isn't getting them any closer to getting out of that hole sorry nice try, we see what your doing, next time be original

</comment><comment><USER36> What's the next step? From YT or their competitors?

White label platform for medium to large producers who don't want the ops overhead of their own distribution system?

</comment><comment><USER37> What a coincidence, facebook seems to be doing something similar: [https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-tests-monthly- subscriptio...](https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-tests-monthly- subscriptions-for-some-groups/)

What can be read into this coincidence? Are these independent developments? Is it a similar strategy, are the big guys actively copying each other? Are they exploring alternatives revenue streams to advertising based on big data, and why should they be doing this?

Or maybe they don't like it that paetreon is becoming an important part of the ecosystem?

Many questions.

<comment><USER38> They are not similar, I don't see them being similar at all.

<comment><AUTHOR> I see the similarities, even if they're superficial. They're both giving publishers the ability to monetize their followers by selling access to additional premium content.

<comment><USER20> They are not similar at all besides both being called a "subscription". Facebook subscriptions are giving users access to content they cannot get without, and there are different price points. YouTube is offering a Twitch style $5 a month "patronage" like subscription. The videos will not be locked down to paying people only.

<comment><AUTHOR> It sounds like some of the content may be locked down, but whether or not the extra content is any good will vary from channel to channel.

> It will also allow subscribers to gain access to members-only posts in the > Community tab where creators will share custom perks from time to time, like > access to an exclusive live stream, additional videos, shout-outs, news of > upcoming events, early access to ticket sales and other things.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER39> Google Needs money and Content creator needs Living. Just not sure, if they will set up their own multi-vendor merchandize e-commerce like merch.amazon.com.</comment>


Jakob Nielsen: 80-20 rule applies to the page fold - <AUTHOR> http://www.useit.com/alertbox/scrolling-attention.html

<comment><USER2> Ya know... those images nearly imply the opposite of what was said. Users scroll to the content they want, and they focus on the things designed to catch their focus. The 80/20 + fold only seems to exist _when websites have excessive focus on above-the-fold design_. Saying it exists on sites aimed at above-the-fold design because they are _designed_ to make it exist is a worthless argument.

* On Amazon, they did a quick-read of the top, and scrolled past a huge amount of info to get to the meat - the non-5-or-1 star review. Note that the one focused on is a 3-star, and the _only_ non-5-or-1. Frequently, the 5 and 1 star reviews are fluff, so of course people skim past them to get to the more-perceived-as objective reviews.

* On JC Penny, were they just browsing, or looking to buy? I'd be willing to be that staring at sofas doesn't tickle many people's fancy unless they're _seriously_ shopping. Sure, the fold applies to passive skimmers, but find someone determined to find something and I'd be willing to bet you'd see a _significantly_ different eye-pattern. And note that the site isn't particularly heavy above-the-fold: JC Penny's site makes almost no money from people who aren't buying something, why _should_ they worry about passive skimmers in their design? They're already past the front, attention-grabbing pages and into product lists, they're either buying or they're not.

* On the Zyflo CR site, note what content is at the top. Bulleted lists, images, bold, colorful text, etc. Eyecatching. And note how much they read further down the page, because it's _all_ informative. The last bulleted list being skimmed is inconsequential once you realize what the list contains: things already said in the content above it. Other thin areas are excessively technical to most readers, so of course they weren't giving it as much information as the more generally applicable content.

The last site in particular _strongly_ implies the opposite. Note how heavy above-the-fold it is, and how much was read further: <http://www.zyflocr.com/zyflocr-healthcare.htm> (yes, the article arguably "explains" this by stating that good AtF content encourages people to read further. It still contradicts the 80/20 theory, and seems to me that it implies FAR more that well-designed, easily-scanned information is more likely to be read.)

<comment><USER3> Those are good points, but just below the pictures he states an important result from his study:

"I picked examples where users scrolled more or less all the way down — often there's no viewing of the bottom because users don't scroll that far."

I don't know exactly how frequently "often" is, but I think those examples were just to show what happens when people actually do scroll down. He's suggesting that most of the time they don't.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I applaud Nielsen for trying to bring more data to the usability world, but man, the guy just doesn't bring any insight. All he does again and again over the decades is analyze a bunch of data which proves that well-established UI conventions work better on average than less common UI conventions.

However any designer or UI person worth their salt innately knows 95% of everything he has ever said, and applies it intuitively while balancing a dozen other issues which Nielsen pretends don't exist (branding, innovation, gameplay, etc). Nielsen's biggest achievement has been branding himself as a top-tier usability expert when in fact probably every high school in America has at least one aspiring designer with a better understanding of how people actually use computers.

<comment><USER5> Not really sure why you're getting downvoted. I agree to some extent. I've always had a love-hate thing for Mr. Nielsen. I've come to terms with him in the regards of treating his philosophies as baseline rules. Kind of like overriding laws in the real world we are recommended to abide by. But as in real life, rules are meant to be broken when it makes sense, such as not crossing a street when you have a don't walk sign. That would be a law. But when you don't see a car for miles around, it just doesn't make sense to abide this law. Jakob spells out these simple laws, but there will always be occasions where you say, well in this instance, it doesn't make sense, because of so-and-so. And that's where it will make sense to get creative and deviate.

<comment><USER4> I probably got downvoted because people thought the last part of my comment was unnecessary. If that's the case then I'm willing to take my lumps without regret. My experience as a web designer for 15 years and being thoroughly unimpressed with Nielsen during the entire tenure of useit.com certainly will have a tendency to come out a bit sideways from time to time.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> How long can he keep beating that old horse.

Yes above the fold is where we keep our navigation, main messages etc. most designers know this and design for this, which might as well make his argument circular.

Users look because that is where we have taken extra care to design.

His conclusion really detracts important understanding from another area which is.

How much can you put above the fold without creating a paradox of choice situation which can be much more damaging.

Eye-tracking is fine but it only really tell a very tiny fraction of the story.

Walt Disney used to call this "visual weenies"

If you put a face looking at you in there you will also see users spend a disproportionate amount of time to look at the picture.

Whether it's circular I don't know but this kind of analysis is in my mind too simplistic.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> The eye-tracking image for Amazon is intriguing - I wonder what it was that made so many people scroll right down to the bottom.

<comment><USER7> He talks about that. Just scroll down to the text immediately after the images.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah, I tend not to post articles I haven't already read. What I meant was, I wonder what was in that particular comment/article that resulted in a disproportionately large amount of user attention. I suspect it wasn't just the recency effect.

<comment><USER7> With no fixations on the number of stars or on the title of the review, the only two possibilities I can think of are the recency effect and a keyword the user was looking for. But if the user looked at but didn't fixate on stars/title (or other elements) we have only intuition to go on.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> > People will look very far down a page if (a) the layout encourages scanning, > and (b) the initially viewable information makes them believe that it will > be worth their time to scroll.

If I behaved like that I'd never seen nice and interesting eye tracking diagrams in the middle of that post.

For that article what's above the fold is quite boring in comparison to the rest.</comment>


What Would Paul Graham Think, About Poker - <AUTHOR> http://bryank.im/pgpoker

<comment><USER2> That was a really interesting read. I am only a very casual poker player and occasional viewer of WPT on cable. I am a multiple start-up guy, first as employee, now as founder. Many of the points you made ring true.

I am reminded of the start-up where I was an early employee. It has an interesting story of founder persistence. He couldn't raise a series B and had to lay-off the 10 or so employees in July 2011. I thought maybe he would either fade away or just go take a job somewhere. I was wrong. He kept the tech alive with a bit of licensing here, a partnership there and some more feature development on his own. Eventually he found a partner that really liked the tech we had built and made an offer to acquire. In the end by persisting and just keeping it "alive" for another 20 months or so post- crisis, the founder was able to succeed. In baseball analogy, he hit a triple, the angels a double and the VC firm a single.

That takes a lot of faith in what you have built, a good attitude to keep selling or pitching even when it is just you and some tech behind the curtain.

Sorry I have kind of rambled but I think my connection is confidence in your ability to make sound decisions even when it isn't working out at the moment.

One key difference that I see is that business formation is a much more unbounded "game" than poker. Also the feedback loops on whether you are making good or bad decisions are much longer in business than in poker. In poker I get feedback in minutes on each hand. If I am astute I can learn continuously and rapidly and improve my odds in a particular local game.

Another key difference is that in poker there is no ambiguity about who my competition is. In business, especially with new innovations it is not at all clear who the competition is. Is competition an internal process with a stakeholder defending their own position out of fear of losing their job (think B2B) is it another company or set of companies? Or is your competition just tradition and inertia?

Anyway thanks for a stimulating and thoughtful analogy.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks for the comment! So I agree that the feedback cycle can be quick, but even the best players go on extended net losing streaks, months at a time. When you're putting in tons of hours and in theory making sound decisions and you add up the bankroll, and those thousands of hours are all for naught... well, that can be devastating.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Hey guys, i wrote this piece. Would love feedback, especially critical :-)</comment>


Apple Bans Another Developer, 1000+ Apps Pulled - <AUTHOR> http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/12/07/apple-bans-another-developer-1000-apps-pulled/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Techcrunch+(TechCrunch)&utm_content=Google+Reader

<comment><USER2> Apple should just monitor high volume developers. I'm not saying all developers with 100+ apps are evil, some are ebooks or whatever, but they should definitely keep an eye on them. Many developers with that many apps are doing something weird like splitting an app into 50 overly specific apps or sometimes very shady techniques like in this article.

</comment><comment><USER3> Neat. All I need is 40 accounts to eliminate my competition.

<comment><USER4> That is, if you don't end up just eliminating yourself.

We could also interpret your comment as meaning: "I've already hacked into my competitor's machines, so Apple can trace the IP addresses back to _them_."

<comment><USER3> Yes, you could interpret it that way... Do you really think apple examined the ownership of each IP? Oh, comcast ip XXX happens to be the mom of the lead sales guy of this app! ban the app!

Seems unlikely to me, but I'm not privy to apple's internal investigation system. I'd wager you aren't either ;)

<comment><USER4> It wasn't a commentary on Apple's investigations. It was a commentary on the lack of foresight in your scheme.

I see your point though. Tracing IP addresses through an ISP's DHCP is probably _way_ too complicated and expensive for a little fly-by-night operation like Apple. They wouldn't have any pull with Comcast.

(Hmmm, your "clever" rejoinder has a few problems of its own. Left as an exercise. Take some advice: Keep your day job. Planning heists doesn't seem to be your strong point.)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> When trying to look at a product you're thinking of buying, ignore the 5 star reviews. Those are always a mix of fanboys (whose posts amount to "<insert product here> is awes0me!!1!1"), people paid to rate it high and other people who like the product but don't tend to have much useful to say (you tend to already know all of the advantages of the product from the marketing department). Looking at the 1 and 2 star reviews is always better as you tend to get an idea of what the problems with the product are and why you might not like it. A balanced approach will always give you the most information.

</comment><comment><USER6> It seems like cliques like this should be pretty easy to statistically discover.

Does anyone have a dataset I could try this on?

<comment><USER7> There's been some academic work on identifying these attacks recently. Most of the work I've seen crawls social networks directly. You could try contacting the authors to see if they will share their data sets.

Representative example: SybilLimit: A Near-Optimal Social Network Defense against Sybil Attacks Haifeng Yu, Phillip B. Gibbons, Michael Kaminsky,Feng Xiao <http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~yuhf/yuh-sybillimit.pdf>

A more recent paper looks at a data set from Digg to discover vote manipulation; the authors are interested in further applications and would probably appreciate your contact.

Sybil Resilient Content Rating D.M. Tran, B. Min, J. Li, L. Subramanian <http://www.cs.nyu.edu/~lakshmi/nsdi09.pdf>

</comment></comment><comment><USER8> Apple should automatically flag accounts who release over a dozen, fifty, or so many apps and review each account. This would cut down on abusers and let them focus their efforts more productively.

<comment><USER9> I doubt it. If there is significant money in this then the "scammer" will just open up new bank accounts under different names and submit 49 apps a piece. It won't be as easy but it will still be profitable.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> This should clean up the App store a hair.

</comment><comment><USER11> What happens to purchases already made? Would your iphone still have the app or will it disappear?

<comment><USER12> They stay on your iPhone/iPod. But of course you no longer can get updates.

I have the Delicious Library app that the developer pulled due to it violating Amazon's API ToS (as revised after the app was released). It still works, and has even made a device transition (iPod -> iPhone).

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> Isn't this kind of vote fraud commonplace?

<comment><USER14> Probably but if they're mixed in with a fair amount of legitimate reviews it's really hard to detect. It sounds like 90% of their reviews were coming from the same users who exclusively review this companies applications.

</comment></comment><comment><USER15> Hey, gota admit that its good that apple keeps tabs on such things. If only Ebay did these sort of things.

<comment><USER16> According to the story, Apple wasn't keeping tabs on it. They only took action when an independent third party pointed out the problem to them.</comment></comment>


The Real Meaning Of Christmas; Seeing Through The Bullshit  - <AUTHOR> http://www.danceproof.com/2009/12/23/real-meaning-of-christmas/

<comment><USER2> Christmas boosts the national economy. Business do better, more jobs are kept/created. Families worry less about employment. Families have a happier Christmas.</comment>


Why Hasn't Brexit Happened? - <AUTHOR> https://www.claremont.org/crb/article/why-hasnt-brexit-happened-yet/ <comment><USER2> "The final negotiated Withdrawal Agreement that May unveiled to Parliament last November caused the whole country, Brexiteers and Remainers alike, to gasp in horror. May's team had been sent away to declare British independence and had returned with a document of surrender. The agreement not only contained (as expected) a £39 billion ($50 billion) "divorce" fee, but also left E.U. courts free to top that fee up. It locked Britain into a customs union with the E.U., with no mechanism for leaving it—ever. The E.U., and the E.U. alone, would decide when Britain had fulfilled the backstop agreement, and any move to break it unilaterally on Britain's part would be resolved by giving the E.U. jurisdiction over Northern Ireland's economic relations. It subjected Britain to E.U. trade sanctions more onerous than those meted out to other countries. It laid out contexts in which E.U. law would retain its supremacy over U.K. law.

The Withdrawal Agreement not only did not end Britain's ties to the E.U. In the name of Brexit, it actually deepened and constitutionalized them."

<comment><USER3> "Brexit was not an "outburst" or a cry of despair or a message to the European Commission. It was an eviction notice. It was an explicit withdrawal of the legal sanction under which Brussels had governed Europe's most important country. If it is really Britain's wish to see its old constitutional arrangements restored, then this notice is open to emendation and reconsideration. But as things stand now, the Leave vote made E.U. rule over the U.K. illegitimate. Not illegitimate only when Brussels has been given one last chance to talk Britain out of it, but illegitimate now. What Britons voted for in 2016 was to leave the European Union—not to ask permission to leave the European Union. It is hard to see how Britain's remaining in the E.U. would benefit either side."

<comment><USER4> "It was an explicit withdrawal of the legal sanction under which Brussels had governed Europe's most important country."

Europe's most important country? It seems to me that one could make a strong case for Germany.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Brexit is a word that seems to have many meanings. Brexit to Brexiteers means a clean break. Brexit to remainers (remoaners?) means the end of a trade regime that Britain was doing fairly well out of despite the large dues. After Brexit, whenever or if ever it happens, Britain will have to sit down with Europe to negotiate trade deals. This is not mentioned by Brexiteers. The complication of the Anglo-Irish Agreement was pooh-poohed by the Brexiteers during the run up to the Referendum of 2016 and now they are hoist on their own petards. I realise that there are many other reasons besides the above.

<comment><USER6> Brexit to some Brexiteers means what they rather fancifully believe is the 'clean break' of no-deal. To some other Brexiteers, Brexit means continued membership of the customs union, but not the single market. No doubt that there are numerous other configurations of Brexit that various people thought they were voting for, including staying in the single market.

These different Brexits would result in very different futures for the UK, and yet they were all aggregated into one vote, 'Leave'.

There has yet to be any evidence that there is greater support from the public for any particular Brexit than there is to remain.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> > The 1973 vote to enter the EEC was the first the United Kingdom ever had.

Nope. The first referendum was in 1975, after we had joined in 1973. It was about if we should remain, or leave; not about if we should join.

<comment><USER8> He mentions that right above though

> The Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath brought the United Kingdom into > the European Economic Community (EEC)in 1973, and voters ratified the > decision in a referendum two years later.

I think it's just a typo, and he meant 1975

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> All of which ignores one rather crucial detail: Attempting major geopolitical change like this without a coherent plan and suitable strong mandate is suicide.

Brexit may have had some merit of sorts, but launching into this without those was destined to be a disaster. And what's left of the farce is entirely meritless

</comment><comment><USER10> > And while such borders might present new challenges after Brexit, there were > proven solutions: non-E.U. Switzerland, for example, keeps its borders, > travel, and trade open with four major E.U. countries. These problems only > became "insoluble" when E.U. diplomats discovered they might be used to > tangle up the Brexit negotiations.

Complete nonsense, just like the rest of the article. Switzerland (and Norway) are both Schengen countries, and even so, the borders are hardly "open". More importantly, the shape of the border is completely incomparable to that between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The Irish border is the _only_ blocking issue, all else heard from brexiteers is just misdirection.

</comment><comment><USER4> "The real grounds for elite hostility toward [Boris Johnson] lay elsewhere"

Quite, but unreliability, irresponsibility, and a tendency to consider his own interests as more important than those of the public ought to be among the grounds listed.

<comment><USER11> Then why not call an election with a one line bill to ensure it happens prior to 31st October?

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> Fantastic article. Thank you.

I particularly like the explanation of the analogy wrt. treaty vs. merger. A treaty is what is wanted and needed, a merger is what they got. Starting to not blame the Brexiters for what they need to do.

<comment><USER13> The stuff on Northern Ireland is incredibly biased and inaccurate.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> If May hadn't called an election in 2015 it would probably have been delivered by now.</comment>


Even – 2048 for Android with a twist - <AUTHOR> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prasio.even Hey HN, I'm the developer of Even. Oddly enough, Even launched last week before 2048. It's similar in that it uses even numbers but different in other ways (dynamics, bombs, etc.)
I spent a ton of time tuning the gameplay (in fact, it was internally beta tested by other Googlers for 2 weeks before launch). The concept is similar to Threes and 1024 but the gameplay is quite different.
It's free so try it out. Warning: it gets really addictive, especially with the public leaderboard!
Ask me anything. <comment><AUTHOR> Hey HN, I'm the developer of Even. Oddly enough, Even launched last week before 2048. It's similar in that it uses even numbers but different in other ways (dynamics, bombs, etc.)

I spent a ton of time tuning the gameplay (in fact, it was internally beta tested by other Googlers for 2 weeks before launch). The concept is similar to Threes and 1024 but the gameplay is quite different.

It's free so try it out. Warning: it gets really addictive, especially with the public leaderboard!

Ask me anything.</comment>


Ask HN: How much is an MBA important to become a PM from Engineer? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER2> I've never known a PM with an MBA (in 40+ years career). I would think an MBA would open doors to more interesting and lucrative careers.</comment>


Best ways to reach startups for design and development services? - <AUTHOR> Hello, I recently started offering design and development services for various items like web app, mobile apps, logos, branding, and landing pages.
Is there some good ways I can reach Startups and companies that are in need of those services before they launch?
Thanks <comment><USER2> Its good to hear about how startups should be designed.Allow me to introduce about mobile lab which helps to develop your mobile app without having knowledge of development.To know more:[https://bit.ly/2sDpV5Z](https://bit.ly/2sDpV5Z)</comment>


Rails and Merb Merge Update: Rails Core - <AUTHOR> http://www.engineyard.com/blog/2010/rails-and-merb-merge-rails-core-part-4-of-6/

<comment><USER2> This series is one of the best "refactoring tales" I've ever read, looking forward to part 5 and 6.

<comment><USER3> I'm hoping part 6 will include a beta gem. :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> I for one, am excited!</comment>


MathTran - <AUTHOR> http://www.mathtran.org/

<comment><USER2> How is it different from Google chart API for Tex?

[http://www.mathtran.org/cgi- bin/mathtran?D=1;tex=\textstyle%...](http://www.mathtran.org/cgi- bin/mathtran?D=1;tex=\\textstyle%20\\frac{p_2}{p_1}%3D1%2B\\frac{2\\gamma}{\\gamma%2B1}\(M_1^2-1\))

[http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=tx&chl=\textstyle...](http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=tx&chl=\\textstyle%20\\frac{p_2}{p_1}%3D1%2B\\frac{2\\gamma}{\\gamma%2B1}\(M_1^2-1\))

<comment><AUTHOR> 1) It's open-source - <http://sourceforge.net/projects/mathtran/> \- so you can run it yourself

2) It actually uses TeX, and so supports a bit more math (they're working on full LaTeX)

3) The editor is interactive - you can watch it being typeset as you type

<comment><USER2> Thanks, those are notable differences.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Maths always works as a great turn on for geeks. However, the fact that the project is open source will help it gain a wider acceptance.</comment>


Weather your downtime with Excuse - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/jkap/excuse

<comment><USER2> bash implementation:

alias excuse='nc towel.blinkenlights.nl 666'</comment>


Researchers Unearth Largest Feathered Dinosaur  - <AUTHOR> http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/04/researchers-unearth-largest-feat.html?ref=hp

<comment><USER2> At the beginning:

" The long, filament-like feathers preserved with three relatively complete skeletons of the newly described species provide direct evidence of extensively feathered gigantic dinosaurs. The discovery is controversial—and in some scientific circles, largely unexpected. "

and at the end:

" Because many species of small-bodied theropods unearthed since the 1990s had been feathered, many researchers suggested that larger species of tyrannosaurs and their close kin could have feathers, as well, he notes. "We've just never had any positive information one way or the other before." "

The hook should be supported by the evidence. Otherwise, find a new hook.

More direct relevance: check your public-facing materials. Don't make a claim you can't support. When it all gets revised, re-check for consistency. Your message won't be heard if your audience is laughing at your screw-up.</comment>


Show HN: Soap Dispenser that ensures the CDC 20sec of hand washing - <AUTHOR> https://soapnstamp.com/ <comment><AUTHOR> Hi Hacker News!

My gf is an ICU nurse and challenged me to build a device that helps people wash their hands properly (I wanted to build a ventilator, but she said that wasn't super helpful....:(

This is my first attempt, it's a soap dispenser that marks your hand with a stamp that fades with at least 20 seconds of hand washing—the minimum time recommended by the CDC.

Very open to comments both constructive and commending! :)

<comment><USER2> I think the stamp will encourage the wrong behavior of scrubbing the spot where you got stamped.

My understanding is that it's not that you need to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds and you're good to go but rather that if you're truly washing your hands thoroughly it will take you at least 20 seconds to do. Most of the time people don't fully wash their hands but just their palms, there's also your thumbs, behind of your hand, in between fingers, etc. There are few videos floating around showcasing how to properly wash your hands with gloves and paint. Here's a one I found on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbX0xwKORjk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbX0xwKORjk)

<comment><AUTHOR> Fair point, we've actually been thinking along the same lines. What if the bottle just lit up for 20s? And had the proper steps on the label?</comment></comment></comment>


Aol Mail Goes Down. No One Notices. - <AUTHOR> http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/20/aol-mail-goes-down-no-one-notices/ <comment><USER2> AOL jokes got old years ago. Alexia Tsotsis doesn't notice.</comment>


Ask HN: Where can I host an ASP.Net MVC4 application? - <AUTHOR>

Where have the HN crowd hosted their ASP.Net MVC3/4 applications?
Which hosting providers have you personally used in the past that you found nice to use?
I'm not looking for something expensive, it's only going to host my pet project (albeit it's going to get huge I'm sure as the competition is slim and the user base is very vocal). <comment><USER2> <https://appharbor.com/>

<http://www.windowsazure.com/> of course

<http://www.hostgator.com/windows-hosting>

I have experience with none of those, I just happened to be wondering the same thing the other day so I know those off the top of my head.

<comment><AUTHOR> AppHarbor looks nice but seems really limiting. Is it like Heroku where I can't even save files to disk?

Do you know of any good VPS providers that have Windows Server? I'm not new to configuring a server machine, but this is the first time I've actually hosted a webapp on another entities box. (I've always hosted in-house)

<comment><USER3> Why not try Microsoft Azure?

I'm hosting there and find the support and tools great, and not that expensive as it's use based.

<comment><USER4> I'm hosting in Azure too, that's great, especially if you can get in Microsoft BizSpark program (not that hard), so you have 3 years of a free basic plan.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Azure has a free version: free Azure Websites. It's awesome, I've hosted a couple of my own tools/project on Azure Websites. You can easily upgrade to a reserved instance if you need more capacity. You can either choose one of many frameworks to install (such as Wordpress) or you can host your own projects (custom code).

</comment><comment><USER6> Been very happy with HyperV VPS from Ultima Systems: <http://www.ultimasystems.net>

</comment><comment><USER7> Try having a look here <http://www.microsoft.com/web/hosting/home>

</comment><comment><USER8> If you're just testing, use winhost.com - Cheap as Chips.

<comment><USER9> I can back this claim up. I have a test version of an app running on winhost. It literally is cheap as chips (both american and english).</comment></comment>


Ask HN: Best websites for finding freelance jobs? - <AUTHOR>

I have recently been interested in doing some freelance work to make some extra money (i do HTML5/Javascript/CSS, php, python, ruby, other web stuff). There seems to be an overwhelming amount of websites/services that help you find freelance developer jobs.<p>If you have experience in this realm, it would be much appreciated if you could lend me a hand and reply with some websites you suggest and/or have experience using. Thank you very much. <comment><USER2> I wrote up a blog post a few weeks ago that covered gun.io, matchist, hackerlist, ooomf, etc and a few other more niche job boards.

I hope to keep it updated as sites come and go (so if you have a good experience with another site/job board, let me know!)

[http://www.gethourglass.com/blog/sites-to-help-launch- your-f...](http://www.gethourglass.com/blog/sites-to-help-launch-your- freelancing-career.html)

<comment><USER3> Thanks for including matchist in that list!

<comment><USER4> "matchist is currently only open to US based developers"

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Best website = use elance/odesk/et al to build up your network...and then stop using them. There's legit, high paying work on those sites but the signal to noise ratio is pretty bad.

I've used elance myself -- it's fine.

</comment><comment><USER6> Check out [https://www.yunojuno.com](https://www.yunojuno.com) \-- currently London only, and primarily on-site work, but lots of big digital/media agencies using it

</comment><comment><USER7> [https://www.gun.io](https://www.gun.io)

</comment><comment><USER8> www.jobserve.com

<comment><USER4> This website gave me the most results for ruby jobs around the world, so why downvote? Anything scammy I need to know about these Sirs?</comment></comment>


Surprise, new Rails vulnerabilities - <AUTHOR> https://hakiri.io/blog/december-2013-rails-vulnerabilities

<comment><USER2> Nice infomercial post that covers the same ground as the release announcement on the rails blog from a few days ago.

<comment><USER3> Do you mean from yesterday? [http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2013/12/3/Rails_3_2_16_and_4_0...](http://weblog.rubyonrails.org/2013/12/3/Rails_3_2_16_and_4_0_2_have_been_released/)

<comment><USER2> Yeah, sorry. I didn't bother with looking at the exact date.</comment></comment></comment>


Rate My Startup: JoeMaps.us - <AUTHOR>

Hello friends,
JoeMaps is a new site by me and my cofounder, Joe Harrow.  Here's the "elevator pitch":  JoeMaps makes it easy to get a map that gives you directions between two places.  Unlike traditional maps, where it's often hard to figure out where you are and where you are headed, JoeMaps are customized for your specific route.  Just enter your origin or destination, and we'll send you a map to your email inbox in 7 - 10 days.  Our tagline is, "For every route, there is a JoeMap."  Check it out: http://www.joemaps.us
Anyway, thanks for your feedback in advance.  I am thinking about adding some ads, what do you think, is it too early?
- Andrew <comment><USER2> I thought it was pretty funny - kind of a novelty item, if the quality was hire (and funnier) you could probably charge for these.

Ads would be kind of useless, your ads are going to be for real mapping solutions and I can't imagine people visiting this site are looking for real mapping solutions (if they know what the site is for). You might catch the confused user if your SEO is solid enough to place you in the runnings for certain terms.

BTW: I requested a JoeMap for my move cross-country (Vandenberg AFB CA to Grovetown GA) - we'll see how it turns out.

</comment><comment><USER3> I just ordered a map and I can't wait to see what turns up. I especially like the comparison chart... can't wait for my JoeMap so I can finally ditch this compass!</comment>


How to organize a ctf? - <AUTHOR>

Hello everyone, In the context of an IT event, my team would organize a CTF (Capture The Flag). About the challenges (we're working on them). I want to have some references on the types and levels of difficulty that we find on CTF generally. (The target audience varies from students (beginner) to security experts and regulars participant in CTF). Then for the deployment, do we should use a local server? Or a VPN? In fact, we lack experience, and I need some advices/suggestions on all organizational aspects. Thank you in advance. D3_4dl1n3 <comment><USER2> stripe did a great job: [https://stripe.com/blog/ctf3-architecture](https://stripe.com/blog/ctf3-architecture)

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah, but that's an architecture about the attack/defense CTF. I'm working on a Jeopardy style CTF. Th'x btw.</comment></comment>


How well do you see color? - <AUTHOR> http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-well-do-you-see-color-173018

<comment><AUTHOR> I got a 3, with 0 being perfect. I'm a bit disappointed in myself I couldn't manage a perfect score. That said it is incredibly dull and frustrating at the end.

</comment><comment><USER2> I got a 99. Color deficient designers unite!

</comment><comment><USER3> scored a 1, almost perfect! [http://d.pr/i/ZlWr](http://d.pr/i/ZlWr)</comment>


TheStartupBus.com - <AUTHOR> http://thestartupbus.com/ <comment><USER2> Ah, nice. The idea of building "startups" really really needs more gimmicks.

Seriously, what are they intending to build? More websites? More social media, social news, social networking?

How about something that actually adds value to society instead?

<comment><USER3> The dream of making a million dollars doing something "easy" (i.e. requiring no more risk than a few years of hard work of a type with which you are already familiar) will not die quietly.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> All I can think is how horribly motion-sick I'd feel.

</comment><comment><USER5> This sounds a bit wacky and fun, but this does not: "This entire experience is a learning experience. You will be required to put your startup up for auction, to enable people in the team to exit. This clears IP issues, rewards the effort of those who participated, and develops an important skill in itself which is driving the valuation up for something you build. About 20% of the final sale price will be recouped to cover costs of the experience."

<comment><USER6> A better model would be for the organizers to take a 20% stake and let participants sell their stake to each other if they want out I guess, the numbers involved from 48 hours work wouldn't be big I'd imagine.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> These types of efforts always look like a blast. But I've also always seen one fatal flaw - when people go straight from brainstorming ideas into execution, they often miss the due diligence step to see what is already out there.

The concept that a startup can be conceived, coded and launched quickly is well established. I don't see what success/failure at this effort will really prove.

Nevertheless, sounds like fun for those who are involved.

<comment><USER8> Maybe the bus should stop at a couple of places along the way and perform some Customer Development?

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> They're going to board a bus at 60 miles per hour?!

</comment><comment><USER10> While it sounds like fun, and I wish the participants luck, it does have the feel of something that MTV would do, no?

</comment><comment><USER11> seems like the "startup" here is to sell the sponsorships...not to build anything.</comment>


Pew Study Confirms Twitter Is Dominated by Negative Assholes - <AUTHOR> http://betabeat.com/2013/03/pew-study-confirms-twitter-is-dominated-by-negative-assholes/ <comment><USER2> This says more about human behavior than twitter.</comment>


Ask HN: Did the NSA impact the cost of hard drives? - <AUTHOR>

Due to Edward Snowden's leaks we know that the NSA has been collecting astronomical amounts of data. Presumably this is stored on hard drives somewhere. I imagine that the storage requirements must be enormous so my question is how could the NSA's purchasing of so much of the global HDD stock go unnoticed or unquestioned? Or am I overestimating their storage requirements? <comment><USER2> [http://what-if.xkcd.com/31/](http://what-if.xkcd.com/31/)

<comment><USER3> That's not at all what OP asked.</comment></comment>


Perspective: Streaming Analytics via WebAssembly - <AUTHOR> https://perspective.finos.org/ <comment><USER2> Are you able to avoid going through HTTP requests and use directly UDP for streaming when using WebAssembly? Or the only advantages of WebAssembly are the improved client-side rendering and processing performance?

In that case, if client-side processing speed is important, wouldn't it be a lot more important and faster to render the output using OffscreenCanvas than by frequendly updating DOM elements?

<comment><USER3> Currently, WebAssembly doesn't can't directly call any of the browser APIs; it has to call back into javascript to make any network requests, make WebGL calls, read to/write from the DOM. Projects like wasm-bindgen make it look like you're directly calling browser APIs, but it's actually calling out to a Javascript shim.

I think this project's use case is that you have a fixed query, but the dataset over which you're running that query is changing over time (getting streaming updates). The wasm part is doing the work of running the query over the dataset and updating the query results as new data streams in. So the assumption is that rendering isn't the bottleneck, but running the query is.

<comment><USER2> So the dataset would be a local dataset (that gets frequently updated from the network) and the query is a local query that runs over that dataset?

I still am a bit confused about the use-case.

<comment><USER2> Oh, I still I'm starting to get it.

Is it if you have a large dataset locally stored (eg. in JS memory) that receives constant updates from a server? Are there any example apps that have this architecture?

<comment><USER4> Any kind of pivoting/roll-up over streaming updates (financial trading, IOT, transportation). A lot of streaming dashboards across a number of industries are effectively just pivot tables over ticking data.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> Seems neat but doesn't seem to work in the latest Firefox (though I do have a hardened user config, I don't think its relevant here). The error showing up in the console is "SyntaxError: invalid regexp group".

<comment><USER6> Apologies, this was fixed a few days ago but hasn't made it into a release yet. [https://github.com/finos/perspective/pull/1065](https://github.com/finos/perspective/pull/1065)</comment></comment>


We flightless primates (2009) - <AUTHOR> http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2009/07/13/we-flightless-primates/ <comment><USER2> Interestingly, bat penis looks astoundingly similar to that of human. Of course, that has nothing to do with phylogeny, but with convergent evolution.

</comment><comment><USER3> Title should mention the year, 2009. It was much more expensive then to sequence genes, a few genetic sequences would seem to eliminate any guess work on the relationship between the different bats.</comment>


Anonymous and the global correction - <AUTHOR> http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/02/201121321487750509.html

<comment><USER2> Unlike the other commenters here, who seem to believe Al Jazeera "just got trolled", I think the rise of 4chan - and reddit - as politically-aware entities is genuinely fascinating.

Of course, there's lots of trolling, grandstanding and silliness going on, but there's also a real, mostly well-intentioned attempt to change the world: redditors have given quite a lot of money and organized a political rally; 4chan has been fighting against Scientology and has (apparently?) been involved in Tunesia; etc. Wrong or right, it seems hard to explain this exclusively in terms of "lulz".

I will admit that my opinion of either group isn't/wasn't very high, and that I'm genuinely surprised by this behavior.

<comment><USER3> the kids are all right man; the kids are all right.

<comment><USER2> I'm terribly sorry, but I don't really understand what you mean. Care to expand your comment a little?

<comment><USER3> reddit and 4chan, I am guessing, came onto the internet after you did; they have a reputation for being a younger crowd generally. Certainly this is true of Anonymous.

There's a very human tendency to look at youth and see their culture and its expression as unserious and flippant, because, well, it is. But they (and it wasn't that long ago that 'they' were 'we' for me) also tend to be deeply passionate about changing the world.

"The kids are all right" is kind of an idiomatic American was of referencing all of this. Sorry it didn't come across.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> The whole article is very self-centered. The Tunisian revolution didn't start because Wiki-Leaks informed them that they live under a kleptocratic and oppressive regime. They already knew that. I also doubt that Anonymous assistance was essential to the adoption of organizational forms that are literally hundreds of years old and spontaneously emerge in nearly every revolution (neighborhood commitees etc).

</comment><comment><USER5> Al Jazeera has really come into its own. With their coverage of Egypt, and giving an un-punditized view of Anonymous, they're being true journalists.

I'm not sure if my overwhelmingly positive feelings towards AJ stem from it being unexpected from a news org based in the middle east, but bravo Al Jazeera.

</comment><comment><USER6> I love the author name on this article.

      Anonymous Last Modified: 16 Feb 2011 16:59 GMT

</comment><comment><USER7> When I saw heading "For great justice" all I could think was All Your Base. I think Al Jazeera just got trolled.

<comment><USER8> Even the caption on the photo, _No corporate or government-owned cyberspace is immune from attack by the vast nebula of Anonymous..._ sounds like it should be read through a Guy Fawkes mask :-)

<comment><USER9> Since the author of the article "identifies as part of Anonymous", that is probably true :)</comment></comment></comment>


My Grandma the Poisoner - <AUTHOR> http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/my-gandma-the-poisoner-0000474-v21n10 <comment><USER2> Since someone else was also thinking that the story seems too unbelievable, I looked up the "Canned beets and sunflower seeds" recall to see if it existed (and just because I was curious of what happened). Google search doesn't return anything meaningful for me. Does anyone know what incident that was?

<comment><USER3> The story also has some whoppers about scuba diving, and the replica of James Randi's blood of St Januarius deal (the red oil in a glass vial in a fancy container). And methane sprayed on an arm and set afire.

It reads very realistic fictionally. I don't believe a word of it other than an impressionistic setting of mood and scene. That aspect of it is pretty good.

There is a genre of lit where you put in technical errors so you can attack the people who notice them for not getting the point, that he loved his grandma although she was obsolete and toxic in the modern world although still physically barely living in it. Yeah author, I get it, you don't have to put intentional errors in it so your little english lit buddies can feel all superior when the unwashed masses of "nerds" find it full of mistakes. Much like hollywood intentionally screwing up everything involving computers because it'll only offend nerds.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> This is a great work of fiction, but I don't feel it's relevant as HN content. What does everyone else think?

<comment><USER5> Do we consider a story fiction unless explicitly stated otherwise?

<comment><USER4> I searched after beet recalls and found no such evidence anywhere

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> That was a really interesting read, but on the creepy/terrifying side of things. One line especially stood out to me:

> When we announced my wife's pregnancy, Grandma freaked out about how there'd > be another mouth to feed and we couldn't afford it.

Assuming the miscarriage happened intentionally, as a consequence of Grandma's food, then I am taken aback by how this woman acted autonomously and intrusively, attempting to covertly control the lives of others, for their "benefit," because she "loved them."

I suppose that's a remarkable example of the danger of not understanding boundaries: where social responsibilities end, and where dangerous overreach begins.

</comment><comment><USER7> Wow , just wow.

</comment><comment><USER8> OMG

</comment><comment><USER9> That was an amazing read</comment>


Net-Worth Obsession - <AUTHOR> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/magazine/16Worth-t.html <comment><USER2> 200k in the bank is nothing in sneeze at. Not to take away from his financial success but he is 32 and still living at home! Personally, I don't think I'd _ever_ trade money for the freedom and fraternization that can happen when you leave home and start spending money :)

hmmm.. maybe that's why I'm 28 with $1900 in the bank! Ouch. Reading stories like this make me a little jealous but at the same time it seems like life might be passing this guy by. He might not be travelling, meeting girls, or enjoying life. I just don't see the goal is saving everything for this "future" date..

<comment><USER3> You can't travel, enjoy life, or meet girls while living with your parents?

<comment><USER2> Sure you can ;) Just not the sleazy kind! haha.

Really thought, I think there is something to be said for branching out on your own without living with your parents. The experiences that come with dealing with day to day issues on your own are invaluable. Who knows maybe he is really making the most of it -- he is on nytimes.com after all.

I can tell you one thing. I'm not going to wake up when I'm 40 and think.. Man, I really wish I would have lived with my parents till I was 35 and saved every penny I had to buy this house.

I don't think he can say the same.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> My favorite cartoon on net worth:

[http://www.taylorbrooks.org/wp- content/uploads/2009/05/homel...](http://www.taylorbrooks.org/wp- content/uploads/2009/05/homelessnetworth.gif)

</comment><comment><USER5> most folks have 200k in debt & 2k in the bank, thus forcing some of them to live at home.

Generation Debt.

</comment><comment><USER6> I don't see why he is still living with his parents if he pays $700 a mo to them in rent for a room.

For that amount he can get a few roommates and live on his own.

I wonder if he calls his parents his roommates like that programmer guy from grandma's boy movie

</comment><comment><USER7> NET WORTH $201,000 INCOME $65,000 AGE 32

Getting a life - Priceless.</comment>


Ask HN: What are you learning? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER3> Sailing: You don't need a boat. Most cities near the water will have some sort of sailing club where for $300 a year you can join and use their fleet of boats. My end goal is to do some sort of week long solo trip.

Rock Climbing: Lots of fun and a great work out.

Meditation: Just getting started with this, but have already seen improvements in concentration and a decrease in anxiety.

Introductory Deep Learning: [http://course.fast.ai/](http://course.fast.ai/) This is probably my favorite course I've ever taken online.

<comment><USER4> >have already seen improvements in concentration and a decrease in anxiety.

Interesting to hear. Meditation is something I have considered looking into for a similar purpose. Do you have any recommendations on a good place to start?

<comment><USER3> First, I did a few random 'guided meditations' off youtube (Sam Harris has a popular one) and discovered that I enjoyed it.

After that, I've been enjoying The Mind Illuminated, by John Yates, and I think others on hackernews will as well. It doesn't bother with a lot of the eastern spirituality aspects, but instead focuses on how to become good at meditating and find the most benefits from it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I've been doing this for a few years now, so not new, but I've always been interested in anything that could be considered a science of optimized decision making. This has included Control Theory, Systems Theory, Operations Research, Economics, Statistics, and Machine Learning.

Most recently it has been Integer and Constraint Programming, which is a typical modeling tool employed by the first three mentioned. I find them interesting because of how much progress solvers have made in the last two decades. It's amazing how often someone finds an NP-Complete problem and doesn't even attempt to try and solve it. Yet with some practical modeling best practices and modern solvers you can get extremely close to extact solutions...and sometimes perfectly exact solutions.

<comment><USER6> > It's amazing how often someone finds an NP-Complete problem and doesn't even > attempt to try and solve it.

Just out of curiosity, how are you coming across these? I've dabbled in integer programming with both Gurobi and SAS (once for hobby purposes, and twice to solve some pretty major problems for work). For some reason, I've found it to be some of the most enjoyable work I've done to date - <USER2> because of the satisfaction of being able to say "this is (one of) the best possible solution(s) to this problem."

I'm constantly looking for new problems to play around with (particularly those with business applications), but I don't find too many. In fact, just yesterday, I was commuting home running through business models and trying to imagine likely unsolved problems where you'd be minimizing/maximizing something subject to constraints...

<comment><USER5> I run into them seemingly all the time. My background is supply chain management, and I could fill books with just the problems I've worked on for Amazon alone.

As an example, a particularly prestigious problem to work on there was optimization of order fulfillment across warehouses with different inventory to reduce costs for split shipments (order two things and get two boxes? That's a split shipment). It's a very difficult problem to solve, considering that there is optimization within an order but also across different orders from the same customer that are yet unfulfilled, and even across completely unrelated orders competing for the same inventory. And with hundreds of thousands of fulfillment options for even a two unit order, it can get extremely complex very quickly. That problem, by the way, is one that was worked on by a founder of instacart when he was still at Amazon.

If you're really interested in IP/LP/MILP/CP with business applications, start picking up literature within the Operations Research discipline. There are plenty of great books to go around. I'd recommend Model Building in Mathematical Programming...its mostly an intro to LP techniques, but the it was the book that made things click for me in terms of identifying and translating real world problems into mathematical models.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> Learning Functional Reactive Programming (FRP) paradigms. Combining pure functions with reactive concepts (where variables change as their values change) is something that sparks my interest. Also the idea of chaining functions together to create composable pipelines of functions without any local state: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfWR3dKnFIo&feature=youtu.be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfWR3dKnFIo&feature=youtu.be)

</comment><comment><USER8> How to read research papers & math notation [http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/home/Papers/data/07/p...](http://blizzard.cs.uwaterloo.ca/keshav/home/Papers/data/07/paper- reading.pdf) [http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/gowers/gowers_I_2.pdf](http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/gowers/gowers_I_2.pdf) [http://www.math.cornell.edu/~hubbard/readingmath.pdf](http://www.math.cornell.edu/~hubbard/readingmath.pdf)

Fourier transform [https://betterexplained.com/articles/an-interactive-guide- to...](https://betterexplained.com/articles/an-interactive-guide-to-the- fourier-transform/) [http://jackschaedler.github.io/circles-sines- signals/](http://jackschaedler.github.io/circles-sines-signals/) [https://books.google.com/books/about/Who_is_Fourier.html?id=...](https://books.google.com/books/about/Who_is_Fourier.html?id=89UpAQAAMAAJ)

Music information retrieval [http://musicinformationretrieval.com/](http://musicinformationretrieval.com/) [https://www.audiolabs- erlangen.de/fau/professor/mueller/book...](https://www.audiolabs- erlangen.de/fau/professor/mueller/bookFMP)

</comment><comment><USER9> Improv. I've been taking classes at a local improv theater in Houston and it has been the most enjoyment I've gotten out of an activity in many years. For two hours a week I am encouraged to say, do, be anything that comes into my head, and react to situations without the filters I have to abide by at work and at home. I'm almost done with Level 1, and have our "graduation show" next weekend. After that comes level 2 and a few more advanced topics and methods.

Web App Development and Computer Science. I don't plan on making it a career but I started learning to program a few years ago after reading The Innovators by Walter Isaacson and it turned into a healthy addiction. Right now I'm throwing together a video library, actually for my improv theater, with Django to search for videos by improv troupe. I'm also doing Harvard's online CS50 course because I want to dive a little deeper into the science of it all.

</comment><comment><USER10> Doing Coursera's Machine Learning course (the one with Andrew Ng).

Started some Blender beginner tutorials. Currently working on a glazed donut.

Also doing a Hacker News client for Android as a side project for some practice. That's how I found this thread.

</comment><comment><USER11> I learning software engineering! Right now I'm using python to learn about OOP, because I've never really understood the paradigm. I figured it's high time I buckled down and figured it out. But to be honest, I think I'd like to try my hand at systems engineering if I get the chance to program professionally.

I am also learning Norwegian, because I want to talk like a viking.

And I am learning Go (Baduk). It is the type of game I will be learning for the rest of my life. Which is why it is my favorite :)

<comment><USER12> Word of warning about OOP: it's _just_ a programming paradigm. It's not the best or the only way to do things, but some 1990s era educational material might tell you so.

<comment><USER11> Yes! I am quickly learning that. It's not very intuitive for me anyway.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Currently learning Elixir/Phoenix as well as web development in general. I've done desktop and a small intranet site throughout my career so this is new to me.

<comment><USER14> I keep coming back to the idea of learning erlang/elixir. Can you point out the resources you've been using? Functional programming is still a little foreign to me.

<comment><USER15> For Elixir you can work your way through the exercises on Exercism here: [http://exercism.io/languages/elixir/about](http://exercism.io/languages/elixir/about)

<comment><USER13> I also suggest trying to create an application and then work through the docs when you run into issues. I learned more from creating a mix task and reading the Elixir docs (which are amazing) than from the books I purchased

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Just started the Coursera Nand2Tetris course. I don't have a comp sci background so it's pretty fascinating stuff to learn from the gate-logic level.

On the job I'm still learning best practices of enterprise software architecture. There's so many opinions about the 'right' way to do things that I've focused on trying to get a better understanding of the organization I'm working in so I can suggest better directions to take.

</comment><comment><USER17> To take a few minutes for myself every day.

</comment><comment><USER18> Learning How to Learn, one of Coursera's most popular courses (and free!). [https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to- learn](https://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn)

</comment><comment><USER19> Been trying to ship an Alexa skill over this last couple of weeks - so far, the progress has been few and far. But hoping to get there.

It's been a great learning experience just to see what AWS has to offer and the alexa SDK is very well thought out.

</comment><comment><USER20> * Crossfit advanced lifts - been doing it for a year, but going slow to build base strength and technique to avoid injuries. (At 300lbs 1RM DL, 255lbs 1RM squat, 230lbs 1RM front squat.)

* Amateur taxidermy - been reading a lot about it and applied for some taxidermy internships in my self-chosen period of unemployment. Mostly I'm interested in the skeletons of rodents and will probably stop when I can assemble a full skeleton.

* Sewing - just an oversize badger onesie this time.

* Machine Learning (obviously!) - pet project is calculating the probability of getting through the queue at the crossfit gym. And yes, current and predicted weather will be factors! :)

</comment><comment><USER21> Concurrent Programming in ERLANG - [http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book- part1.pdf](http://erlang.org/download/erlang-book-part1.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER22> Currently learning how to transform ideas into business...

<comment><USER23> How do you learn that ?

</comment></comment><comment><USER24> MITx Introduction to Computer Science using Python: [https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science- mit...](https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science- mitx-6-00-1x-9)

Neovim: I want to dig deeper into a small subset of tools I use a lot and a text editor sees a lot of use. Especially as I learn programming. So good place to start!

</comment><comment><USER25> Just got my sport pilot license, which is pretty sweet considering I was told for over a decade I'd never fly as a type 1 diabetic

</comment><comment><USER26> I signed up for 3 months of [https://linuxacademy.com](https://linuxacademy.com), dedicating at least 2 hours a day during the week and more on the weekends. System administration has been my weakness when it comes from delivering a product from development to production. I hope to be able to become a RHCE by April.

<comment><USER27> Did this for a few months when I first learned to code and could never figure out how to get something from my laptop to a "real server" ...

Great material!

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> Physical Improvement:

      BJJ - fun, keeps me active
      Dancing - ballroom, tango

Personal Impromevment:

      Drawing - because I can't draw a stick figure
      Spanish - relationship, travel

Intellectual Improvement:

      Calculus - because I've forgotten so much, and it's
        actually relevant at work now.

Professional:

      Rust

</comment><comment><USER29> Oil painting. I often like to learn completely new, unrelated skills like this because it allows me to draw from unusual, and wide sources when working on solutions. People often wonder how I am able to 'think outside the box' and I believe it's because I have a wider, more varied set of skills to draw from.

</comment><comment><USER30> Spanish - I feel like it's easier to learn now instead of in 8th grade when I had 7 other classes to study as well. Plus, I feel it's like learning a new programming language in some ways, which I've spent the past X years doing. As a concrete skill, I can use it every day (Austin), and on many vacations.

<comment><USER31> I too am learning Spanish this year. It has been very interesting learning the differences between English and Spanish. For instance, there is a formal and informal way of speaking to people. It blew my mind a little to learn that my girlfriend (whose native language is Spanish) only speaks to her brother using the formal way. Also, she uses the informal way with some of her friends but not others. It's like a weird extra dimension of language that I never knew existed.

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> Microsoft DHTML Behaviors, this is the IE5-6 stuff that was deprecated with IE7. I'm on a legacy modernization project. I never worked with that stuff before so it's all new to me. I kind of enjoy this type of work so if you or anyone you know needs help with such a project, ping me (email in profile).

</comment><comment><USER33> Hardware development, via arduino.

I'm having lots of fun putting together simple circuits, and programming in Lisp, FORTH, & C.

I've got a couple of projects on the go at the moment, and more planned. At the moment I'm mostly stalled on waiting for parts to be shipped from China.

It feels like an interesting change from purely writing code.

</comment><comment><USER34> Swedish & Erlang. I'm also eyeing stone carving and hopefully starting roller derby.

</comment><comment><USER12> Orbital mechanics because I take Kerbal Space Program way too seriously. If anyone wants to geek out about this and take a look at my code, get in touch.

Woodworking because it's a nice balance to working with computers. I work almost exclusively with hand tools.

<comment><USER35> I love KSP also, when do you take OM course?

<comment><USER12> I took a few courses of astronomy at Helsinki university, but mostly I've studied on my own. I did watch Leonard Susskind's lectures on classical mechanics but did not any online courses.

Check out my related project, it contains all the orbital mechanics you need to write your own Kerbal Space Program clone (look around in the branches): [https://github.com/rikusalminen/twobody](https://github.com/rikusalminen/twobody)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> Linear Algebra. It's fun!

<comment><USER37> me 2 hahahah Go Sal!

<comment><USER36> check out this playlist[0]. This guy provides intuition behind major LA concepts. Have fun! :) [0] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjBOesZCoqc&list=PLZHQObOWTQ...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjBOesZCoqc&list=PLZHQObOWTQDPD3MizzM2xVFitgF8hE_ab&index=1)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> Going through Coursera's "Functional Program Design in Scala" (second scala class in the series).. looking to finish the specialization which eventually touches on Spark.

Also, linear algebra refreshers ..

</comment><comment><USER39> Topics for the Oracle Certified Master exam. We don't use a lot of the technology in it at work, so just knowing it even if I don't take / pass the exam might help me in my job search.

</comment><comment><USER27> * Chinese language. Was conversational a few years back but am extremely rusty now.

* Discipline & routine.

* www.deeplearningbook.org

* Pedagogy. In particular, teaching languages.

* Crossfit ... lol

* I want to take some dance classes, but haven't pulled the trigger yet ...

</comment><comment><USER40> Personal: \- Portuguese for my relationship Professional: \- OTP with Elixir \- React (been slacking on my front end skills) Physical: \- nutrition \- more time doing CrossFit

</comment><comment><USER41> Technical: predominately Typescript, beginning to dabble in Rust, and reading a lot about the architecture of Postgres.

Non-technical: Vietnamese language.

</comment><comment><USER42> Work </> life balance.

It's been a recurring New Year's resolution for a while now and 2017 is the year it will be mastered!

</comment><comment><USER43> Vue.js and particle transport equations.

</comment><comment><USER44> Array programming languages: J, K, Q, and more recently, APL; using RosettaCode to assess my progress.

</comment><comment><USER44> Array programming languages: APL, J, K, and Q, using RosettaCode tasks to assess my progress.

</comment><comment> cris-ward Crystal lang - it's awesome

</comment><comment><USER45> Clojurescript and reagent .. very cleanly designed, and one ring to rule them all

</comment><comment><USER46> Taking the 3rd part of a Cisco CCNT course so I can have a decent income for once.

</comment><comment><USER47> I've been reading "Distributed Algorithms" by Nancy Lynch lately.

</comment><comment><USER48> JavaScript testing, TDD, BDD.

</comment><comment><USER49> Ruby and RoR

</comment><comment><USER50> Ruby & RoR. It's something new & fresh after several years of Java & Scala development.

</comment><comment><USER51> Digital audio processing.

It sucks.

<comment><AUTHOR> how come?

<comment><USER12> Not GP but: bugs in audio processing code will produce some very nasty sounds. Can't use headphones because if you fuck up, you're deaf but can't use speakers because wife and cats complain.

This is why audio programming sucks and my software synthesizer project is on hold until I can get a house with a noise proof basement.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER52> Scala and Kubernetes</comment>