Frequently Asked Quests (FAQ)

Here is a list of questions we get asked frequently? If your question isn’t answered here, please reach out and if it’s asked frequently enough it’ll get added here!

WHO CAN COME?

Anyone. Anyone who codes, designs, or wants to work on something cool. If you don’t already know how to do these things, you can spend the time learning how, and show everyone what you learned. That’s great too!

CODE OF CONDUCT

Hack and Tell Milwaukee is dedicated to providing a harrasment-free event experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment of event participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any event venue. Event participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the event at the discretion of the event organizers. Read the extended Code of Conduct.

CAN I COME WITHOUT AN IDEA?

Absolutely! You can join someone else’s project, work on some coding challenges, or dream up something on the spot. You can fiddle with anything you’ve been tinkering with: prototype that business idea, prove to a co-worker that your algorithm will work in that one special case, or make a gift for a special someone.

WHAT SHOULD I BRING?

Most people bring their laptops, chargers, and anything else they need to work on their projects. Feel free to bring anything you need: a loom, a guitar, etc. Just remember to be considerate of those that are working around you.

Tell us in advance if you plan to bring something that could be considered a weapon, but anything else is fair game.

IS THIS ONE OF THOSE IDEA GRABS? WHO OWNS THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF WHAT GETS PRESENTED?

We don’t want to own the rights to your ideas. You retain 100% of the ownership of your ideas. We are just here to help them move it forward.

WILL THERE BE FOOD?

Depends on sponsorship and will vary from event to event. We try to make sure the event is near multiple food options in the event that we are unable to find sponsors for food.

WILL THERE BE PRIZES?

An assortment of small prizes will be awarded at each event. These are usually games, legos, nerf guns, small gadgets, etc. If you or your company would like to donate some prizes, we’d love to have them! Please contact us!

WHY DO YOU RUN YOUR HACKATHON DIFFERENTLY THAN EVERYONE ELSE?

We believe a business plan shouldn’t win a hackathon. We keep our prize values low, and we welcome only people who want to build stuff. If you’re interested in why, read this article we wrote about the Three Types of Harmful Hackathons.

DO I HAVE TO TALK IN FRONT OF EVERYONE?

Nope, no pressure at all. We always love to see what cool stuff people are making, but we understand public presentations aren’t for everyone. If you do present, we ask that you keep it short and sweet and under three minutes. A good general format is:

I made ________, and it does ________. I worked on it because ________ and it is made with ________. Before today, I had done ________, and today I worked on ________.