The Bay

Before Shipwrecked, you will need to earn your spot by participating in The Bay! (Click me!)

Please check the #shipwrecked-bulletin channel on Slack for the most up-to-date information.

Your goal is to make polished, fully-deployed projects.

  • Install Hackatime on your computer and start coding.
  • Make 4 projects you are proud of (roughly 15 hours each).
    • Most people will make 4-6 projects along the way, some of which they will try to promote to go viral.
    • Making projects that other people like is an iterative process! You will learn some important lessons along the way and apply those learnings to future projects :)
  • For example, let’s say you make a .gitignore file generator that you work really hard on to make it as polished and functional as possible, publish it on Hacker News, and get on the front page for a day; we would consider that as going viral!
  • You can find more thresholds for what we consider going viral for the event on this page.

You are welcome and encouraged to team up — try to find a partner to work on your project with you!

That sounds great and all, but what are the exact requirements?

To complete The Bay, there is 1 main requirement: Each person must spend at least 60 hours (roughly 15 hours per project) and ship 4 fully deployed projects.*

  • Optional: Go Viral: Here’s what that exactly means.
    • You will make multiple projects. Only 1 of your projects must go viral to fulfill this requirement.
  • Optional: Attend workshops, lightning talks, and other virtual events to help with your project!

Wait, is going viral a requirement?

  • While it was at launch, going viral is no longer a requirement to earning an invite to Shipwrecked.
  • However, if you go viral (according to these requirements), you will get certain privileges at Shipwrecked such as getting to stay in the ocean-facing Executive Suite, the fanciest accomdation on the island!
  • Our goal is to challenge you to make quality projects that other people would use and enjoy.

TL;DR:

1. Build 4 projects in The Bay. Spend 60 hours on quality work and you will get an invite.
2. Go to Shipwrecked on August 8-11 — a hackathon on an island in the Massachusetts Bay!

*This is super achievable! One way you could do this is every week, meet up with your friends either in person or over The Pier — our video game-like digital meeting space — for 5 hours, whether throughout the week or in one day. If you join for 12 weekends doing quality work, you should have 60 hours!

FAQ:

Can I work on a project I started before the event?

Yes! Only hours you put in after the event was announced will be counted

How much time can I log for art (video editing, traditional art, etc.)?

Up to 20% of your time submitted can be art! You're welcome to do more though it won't count towards your hours.

Can I combine views across multiple platforms to reach the viral thresholds?

No. However, you may make multiple posts on one platform and combine those views as long as you combine them in good faith. (A bad faith example would be if you make 200 duplicate posts on Reddit and get 3 of your friends to upvote each one)

We reserve the right to decide if a project meets the criteria. If you project does not meet the criteria, we will let you know how your project does not meet it.

Do my projects have to be open-source & usable by others?

Yes.

What requirements do my projects need to meet?

Your project needs to be shipped!

That means it must be at least one of the following:

  • Live website (that will remain up after the event)
  • App in production

Your project must have:

  • Open source code available on GitHub
  • A descriptive README that explains how to use/install your project

More detailed requirements will be shown in The Bay when you submit.