Yea, I definitely know that within my college experiences with hackathons, it was something that everyone looked forward to. You would be able to create something cool, hangout with your friends, get free food, and just have a great time.
Glad to hear that this ended well. I couldn't imagine what you went through not being able to sleep. I feel as though if you aren't physically feeling well, you can't sleep well. At the beginning of this year I was sick and man, was it tough trying to get a comfy night's rest.
I am so thankful now for nights that I can literally rest easy.
I agree. Even with my short time I have spent on HN, I find the place to be much more civil and information with less clutter than Reddit. Keep HN's identity strong and don't try to "copy" Reddit. I would think that if you allow a few AMAs it will quickly devolve as everyone would want to do an AMA.
Yea, always-on content capture will definitely record more of these humorous moments, but wouldn't people eventually feel uncomfortable anywhere out in public if they know as soon as they leave their doors, they will be put on the spotlight and potentially have all their actions shown to everyone on the web?
I definitely agree with the point that for hiring, recommendations go a long way in terms of filtering out so many of the "liars" and "deluded" that you discussed. I feel like in any setting, using your network of individuals that have already gained your trust to expand that network is a good and effective way to progress.