[armchairhacker]

https://joel.net/how-one-guy-ruined-hacktoberfest2020-drama

Very similar: some guy created a video and a lot of people submit useless PRs, except for a T-shirt instead of crypto.

EDIT: Except, Hacktoberfest ran since 2014 and there was never an issue before the video, which (unintentionally) brought it a lot more attention and gave a bad example of an “improvement”. Incentives can be good if designed and explained carefully.

[elAhmo]

Hah! I was a contributor in the past, have 3-4 T-shirts and a bunch of stickers, and then last year in October I wondered what happened to Hacktoberfest, why it didn't have the coverage like it had in the past.