US Government Announces National Day of Civic Hacking

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

US Government Announces National Day of Civic Hacking

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday January 23, 2013 @07:37AM from the does-not-involve-hondas dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Yesterday in a post at the White House website, the U.S. government announced that June 1-2 would be the National Day of Civic Hacking. 'Civic Hacking Day is an opportunity for software developers, technologists, and entrepreneurs to unleash their can-do American spirit by collaboratively harnessing publicly-released data and code to create innovative solutions for problems that affect Americans.' It will be a joint project with Random Hacks of Kindness, Code for America. Activities are being planned in many cities across the country, and you can also sign up to host your own event. It's nice to see the government use the word 'hacking' in a positive way, since most uses of the term these days involve malicious activity."

12 of 102 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Not the car?? by KFK2 · 2013-01-23 07:40 · Score: 5, Funny

And here I thought it was about hacking Honda Civics.. enough people do that you'd think there'd be a holiday for it already.
The feds promoting 'hacking'? by paiute · 2013-01-23 07:41 · Score: 5, Insightful

Color me surprised. Or maybe code me surprised. I thought the term 'hacker' was forever lost, stained by the media beyond redemption.

--
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
1. Re:The feds promoting 'hacking'? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-23 08:18 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  I know it's all perspective, and this is just mine, but I see more appropriate uses all the time now. Business rags like to talk about large tech companies having their hackathons and unknown devs "hacking" on their personal projects. The whole "maker" thing, which is (dare I say) trendy now, uses the word all the time. And we're well out of the 90's, when computers were transitioning from mystery AOL terminals to tools that almost everyone grew up using. I do feel like we're swinging back from the hollywood version of the word, and this is a good example.
  Though I suppose you could argue that both uses weren't that distant from each other in the first place. Just a thought.
Liberate Data by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-23 07:44 · Score: 5, Funny

"Liberate data that can inform better problem solving in every community."
I propose we make a script that downloads all the research journals that we can, then makes massive online library of them that anyone can access. Oh wait. That doesn't end well.
Apparently one Aaron Swartz was not enough. by scorp1us · 2013-01-23 07:47 · Score: 3, Interesting

Be careful out there. This isn't a true call to hacking, it is a call for free labor.

--
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
Re:Apparently one Aaron Swartz was not enough. by phantomfive · 2013-01-23 07:50 · Score: 4, Insightful

This isn't a true call to hacking, it is a call for free labor.
I don't mind donating my labor for free sometimes if it makes the world a better place.

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Random hacks of kindess... by SternisheFan · 2013-01-23 07:53 · Score: 2

I truly believe in the 'pay it forward', random acts of kindness ideology. When I see someone obviously having difficulty somehow, I many times do stop and ask them if I can help. It usually doesn't cost me up anything but a little of my time, and it helps me feel better about myself afterwards. How coders can apply this to 'hacking' though, how can they do that?
1. Re:Random hacks of kindess... by SternisheFan · 2013-01-23 09:15 · Score: 2
  
  Except when its a trap and you get robbed and killed
  Well, there was that time when I was a teenager in Manhattan. I walked up on a guy who was hitting and kicking a woman who was on the ground. I yelled at him to ''cut it out'', and before anything else happened, the woman gets up all angry and comes towards me. She was yelling something like, "Who the hell are you to talk to him like that, I should kick your ass..."
  I threw up my hands and say, "Fine! Kill each other, see if I care!" and walk away. Ever since then I'm real careful about getting between two people fighting each other, they may actually be enjoying it.
Re:Apparently one Aaron Swartz was not enough. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-23 07:54 · Score: 4, Funny

Yes. I like roads.
Re:Apparently one Aaron Swartz was not enough. by scorp1us · 2013-01-23 08:01 · Score: 3, Informative

Roads are predominantly state projects. And though you might claim the feds help fund them, it's only because the feds confiscate via the income tax then give it back for compliance with federal initiatives.

--
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
Memories by Mikkeles · 2013-01-23 08:03 · Score: 4, Funny

Why am I reminded of this Dilbert?

--
Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
Re:Apparently one Aaron Swartz was not enough. by Darkness404 · 2013-01-23 08:25 · Score: 2

Ideally, its none of us!

What happens in a democracy, not just the US, but in ANY democracy (or republic) is that the masses will inevitably push for higher taxes and more welfare and raid the treasury for their own personal gain. Since democracy at its essence is a popularity contest, the politicians will push for higher and higher taxes and more welfare. When productivity is punished, productive people will go elsewhere (see France) when productive people go elsewhere, the country goes into a decline (such as the Roman Empire/USSR) and eventually collapses.

I am responsible only for the actions and decisions I make. Not my neighbor's, not the government's, but mine and mine alone.

--
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.