[mattmanser]

It's a nice site and everything, but who is this aimed at?

It doesn't seem to be non-coders as far as I can tell.

1. You need to already have a github account

2. The setup assumes you have CLI experience

3. The setup assumes you use linux or a mac (because all non-programmers do that)

So has wired misunderstood the target audience, or is the site comically anti-n00b?

[brudgers]

The site was set up as part of a structured learning environment. Any implication that it is suitable for onboarding people with no background knowledge about software development [ if it exists ] comes from the article and it's choice of title.

In addition, if creating a Github account and typing commands into a computer instead of clicking a button represent impassable obstacles to learning programming for some person, then these requirements are appropriate for screening out those whose energy might be better invested elsewhere.

Programming requires interacting with other computers and typing.

[mbubb]

You should have a github account if you are learning to program. In my experience interviewers expect it.

[umanwizard]

I work at a huge company named after a big river in South America. I don't know of anybody in my org that has a GitHub, and maybe like 1/10 of the resumes I see for interview candidates have one. Is this "expectation" a San Francisco thing?

[yen223]

I find that if you're not in Silicon Valley, 50% of the stuff on HN won't matter to you.

[fillskills]

Very off topic, and I dont completely agree with you. But you had me laughing out loud in a coffee shop.

HN has a suprisingly vast and interesting topic base. My mom (a complete non techie) and my sister (Bio Medical engineer) read it on a regular basis.

[mbubb]

No, NYC. But good point. Maybe it is a 'deformation professionelle' but I feel like it is common.

I have been interviewing in adtech, financial tech, educational tech and ecommerce companies, not ones named after SA rivers (Rio Plata, Orinoco, Putumayo?).

Some applications have boxes for github, linkedin accounts. Also I have been asked for it in interviews. In 2 cases I have seen programming tests where step one was 'clone this repo...' (one a fintech the other a big data audience tracking company).

[jdhawk]

Why? I've been a coder for 10+ years, dont have a github account. Never used git. All the enterprise projects I work on chugg along just fine on local source control servers of various flavors (CC, Mercurial, SVN, etc...)

[clebio]

This. I have a github account, and when I wasn't working as a developer, it was more active. Right now, all my code contributions go to closed, company-hosted repos. I'm coding more now than I was before, but you won't find any of that on my github. It's the -- possibly unfortunate -- nature of private industry, but that should be a surprise to no one. Sure, I'd love to work somewhere that lets me contribute to FOSS projects during my work day, but that is a much smaller subset of all jobs that involve software development.

[dagw]

Interviewers at small Silicon Valley start-ups expect it. The rest of the programming world, not so much.

[pjmlp]

Startups interviewers looking for university students.