Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 121 posts

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#51

Post by InclinedPlane »

ddunkin wrote: post #2

How about we leave age/sex/race out of it all and accept them into the community as peers and equals? I'm all about encouragement, but if we treat them differently because of age, we are just sheltering them from the real world (the Internet hardly counts there, I know). The Internet may not be the safest place to be taught how to accept criticism, but it is a lot easier to take (and more productive) when the attacks…

"Sheltering them from the real world."

Indeed. Why don't we just thrust 14 year olds into the worst sort of soul-sucking office job for a year or so. That'll give 'em a good taste of the "real world".

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#52

Post by jneen »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #43

Memo to self: Make mentoring site (hackernewsmentor.com) Where old and weary can openly agree certain SLAs With the young and enthusiastic If more of us see it publically more of us will be encouraged to answer a months worth of questions on perl As for me - I could have done with a mentor not for technical issues - but for the life and career choices I made badly twenty years ago - but I would only have take. Advice…

I'm in. Let me know when you get started with this, I'll help build it.

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#53

Post by danilocampos »

qzxt wrote: post #33
danilocampos wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That essay called mentioning age "manipulative," which is easily the most jackasstic thing I've seen on the subject. Whatever valid point might have been there was lost in the cold dismissiveness of the author's attitude.

So is your point that he was incorrect in stating that a lot of people post their age in order to get to the front page or that calling that action manipulative is wrong? The thesis of the post seemed to me to be if you make a product, focus on making the product better and everything else falls into place. Very fair bit of advice if you ask me. Furthermore, it states another related thing which is, how are you going…

Calling that action manipulative is inherently hostile. That's counterproductive.

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#54

Post by mhurron »

kyro wrote: post #46

That blog article was one of the stupidest things I've ever read. I never got the encouragement or support to pursue my hobbies at a young age, whether from parents or friends, and would've killed to have a community like this that could've praised me and pushed me forward. To accuse a kid mentioning the fact that he's 14 in his submission title as being manipulative really reflects on how out of touch you are with t…

We're not these children's daddies though, are we? Did you run up to every adult expecting praise? Did they give it to you?

This is a group of, by and large, professionals. They are going to look at it in a critical light. If you want critical feedback, this is the forum to show it to. If you want coddling and nothing but positive reinforcement, stick with your parents, teachers and friends.

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#55

Post by ruswick »

ktrgardiner wrote: post #25

I think announcing your young age alongside your project is important because it opens up more opportunities for others to guide you and help fuel your passion and talent. Without the age, people will assume that the creator is old enough to know what they enjoy and what they want to pursue. But with the age, you'll have people with more experience saying "Since you obviously like X, you should look into Y and Z. Her…

The issue is that most posts that announce one's age don't result in guidance. They result in a chorus of "good jobs" that, although nice, don't offer any real constructive advice.

I've always postulated that one would get more actionable advice and sincere criticism if they did not include their age, and that age merely lowers the bar and dilutes the value of the discussion.

Including one's age might result in comments that make the poster feel better, but they won't make him code better.

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#56

Post by ruswick »

danilocampos wrote: post #11
devonbarrett wrote: post #8

As a 17 year old, I disagree, regardless of age, if someone creates or does something that is considered impressive, they should receive credit based upon that - not because of an arbitrary number that supposedly relates to their ability.

Then I shall congratulate you for being well-encouraged and thick skinned in your world already. For everyone else lacking such good fortune, though, it would be nice if we could err on the side of being welcoming, rather than hostile.

Arguing that one ought not to include their age is not akin to arguing that one ought to be hostile to young people. We should just not be inordinately soft in criticism. Doing otherwise just inhibits development of "thick skin."

The world is comprised predominately of people that either 1) don't like you or 2) are indifferent to you but don't like your work. That's not because their assholes, but just because they're aware of the flaws in you or your work. The sooner one experiences them, the sooner one can start to take advantage of their advice.

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#57

Post by [deleted] »

vishnumenon wrote: post #35

As the author of the "ugly and short-sighted essay" in question, I want to just mention that I meant no hard feelings to anyone of any age, and tried hard to critique the behavior, not the person, Sorry if it came across as ugly. However, I stand by my opinion. I believe that there are plenty of other places these teens can go for blanket approval and yes-men, such as friends and family. HN is, to me, reserved for un…

[deleted]

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#58

Post by ckrailo »

mhurron wrote: post #54
kyro wrote: post #46

That blog article was one of the stupidest things I've ever read. I never got the encouragement or support to pursue my hobbies at a young age, whether from parents or friends, and would've killed to have a community like this that could've praised me and pushed me forward. To accuse a kid mentioning the fact that he's 14 in his submission title as being manipulative really reflects on how out of touch you are with t…

We're not these children's daddies though, are we? Did you run up to every adult expecting praise? Did they give it to you? This is a group of, by and large, professionals. They are going to look at it in a critical light. If you want critical feedback, this is the forum to show it to. If you want coddling and nothing but positive reinforcement, stick with your parents, teachers and friends.

Positive reinforcement and pleasant feedback are how people grow, not some type of angry neckbeard behavior. Everybody knows the professionals are superior, so we ought to kindly and gently nudge the newcomers to the same level of excellence.

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#59

Post by biot »

kyro wrote: post #46

That blog article was one of the stupidest things I've ever read. I never got the encouragement or support to pursue my hobbies at a young age, whether from parents or friends, and would've killed to have a community like this that could've praised me and pushed me forward. To accuse a kid mentioning the fact that he's 14 in his submission title as being manipulative really reflects on how out of touch you are with t…

And how is a response of "That's pretty good for a 14 year old" of any help? If the critique should not take into account the age of the creator, then why should the request for the critique mention it? Shouldn't everyone who shows initiative and a willingness to learn be encouraged through respectful and civil feedback, regardless of whether they're 14 or 40?

Re: Implore HN: Celebrate and encourage young developers who post here

#60

Post by scoot »

ckrailo wrote: post #58
mhurron wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're not these children's daddies though, are we? Did you run up to every adult expecting praise? Did they give it to you? This is a group of, by and large, professionals. They are going to look at it in a critical light. If you want critical feedback, this is the forum to show it to. If you want coddling and nothing but positive reinforcement, stick with your parents, teachers and friends.

Positive reinforcement and pleasant feedback are how people grow, not some type of angry neckbeard behavior. Everybody knows the professionals are superior, so we ought to kindly and gently nudge the newcomers to the same level of excellence.

How Not to Talk to Your Kids The inverse power of praise. (2007) http://nymag.com/news/features/27840/index4.html
Post reply on HN