It's more of an interactive jobs fair now. :(
Having spent plenty of time at non-MLH hackathons, I'd say the phenomenon you're observing is actually a broader trend in hackathons, not something specifically MLH is doing. The truth is, most of the sponsorship money that funds these events comes from recruiters. Hackathons are also a hell of a lot more effective for recruiting than job fairs for many companies. Naturally, a huge influx of people focused on hiring hackers would impact the culture.
It's up to organizations like MLH to help preserve the good parts of hacker culture while enabling it to naturally evolve over time. I like to think we're doing some good work on that front, but there's always room for improvement and feedback like yours drives that!
Thanks for being a part of the community! Feel free to drop me an email if you ever want to chat about your feedback further or share additional ideas.
So that's the thing, right? These events used to be fueled by passion about hacking. Then, at some point, MLH or a similar org says "Hey, we'll give you support and more money for bigger events, you just have to adopt our culture." Then otherwise interesting local and unique events, with local and unique buy-in and community participation (actual community participation, not the "community" bandied about by folks like you looking to astroturf what you're doing), are scrubbed out because they aren't economically viable.
Orgs that sponsor hackathons for recruiting partnerships ruin these things, and that's why hackathons are full of kids looking to win prizes and build resumes instead of make cool things.
>It's up to organizations like MLH to help preserve the good parts of hacker culture while enabling it to naturally evolve over time.
It's up to the hackers. Orgs are just profiting off of it.
EDIT: Slightly less inflammatory tone.
