On: YC Hacks – August 2-3

[dropit_sphere]

>Since when did competition stop any of these from being fun ways to learn new things, show off your skills, and make friends?

When they became fun ways to get [prize].

The prize has to be inconsequential to maintain the atmosphere the grandparent refers to. "Hacker bragging rights" is a good prize because it is hard to hack; it incentivizes the right things (pleasing the community).

[clarle → dropit_sphere]

I've long preferred having hackathon prizes that are in the spirit of hacking (think Arduinos, drones, various sensors).

They're fun because people might not normally buy them, but would be a great prize to say that you won at a hackathon.

A YC interview as a prize would be way too valuable to have a just-for-fun competition for.