Topic: Now Hiring: Website Programmer

[NWR_Neal]

NWR is looking for a programmer to help make the site even better, and it could be you!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/sitenews/25984

Are you a web developer or programmer as passionate about games as we are? Are you interested in making sure Nintendo World Report continues to be the authoritative independent Nintendo-based website for credible, honest coverage for all things Nintendo?

Awesome! Why? Because we're looking for a programmer to help maintain and implement new features on our website! Nintendo World Report has an all-volunteer staff that receives no monetary compensation for their contributions, and this programming position is no different. That said, you will be joining and coordinating with a passionate team of video game enthusiasts, enabling them to produce more and better gaming-related content.  This position offers the chance to grow your technical and team-building skills, and also leaves open the possibility of writing articles and covering gaming events on the side.

This is a non-paying position, and as such, we recognize that applicants' time and web development background may be limited. That said, experience with the following technologies are desirable:

• Linux (Ubuntu)

• Java / JSP / JSTL

• XML / XSLT 2 (less likely, but should understand XPath at least)

• HTML 5 / CSS 3

• JavaScript / jQuery

• SQL (PostgreSQL)

If you're interested, please submit your application to NWR Jobs. Please include responses to the following prompts:

1. What is your schedule and availability? How many hours, on average, do you anticipate you could contribute?
   
2. In which city / country do you reside? (Requested for logistical purposes)
3. Why are you interested in this position?
4. What is your prior experience with web development or programming? Please describe your familiarity with any of the technologies listed above (or comparable technologies), as well as any other programming projects or jobs that are relevant. (Feel free to attach code samples or hyperlinks to your prior work.)
5. Consider the following scenario: You've been asked to implement a new feature for the NWR website. You anticipate this will require you to develop additional database tables and web pages. What would be your general approach to designing, implementing, testing, and deploying this new feature? How would you ensure nothing else on the site “breaks” in the process?
6. Given a collection of proposed new site features, how would you go about prioritizing their importance or criticality?

[Jonnyboy117]

I want to share this story from our original site developer, Justin Nation. He founded The 64 Source and later Operation N2000, which eventually merged with Planet GameCube. Justin programmed our original database, as well as the classic green and purple versions of PGC that you might remember from the first half of last decade. He wrote the following story for the site's 12th birthday feature, but it came in late and didn't make it into the feature in time.

In order to relate where I am now I think it is important to know about how PGC (sorry, that's how I really know it) helped put me there. When I decided to "leave the scene" before having my first daughter Billy and I talked about taking the content our friends and I had worked so hard on and folding it into his site. Move forward a few months and even though I was busier with being a dad I was also taking some grad classes on programming and bored at my job... a dangerous combination. The end result a few months later was the original (and utterly pathetic, now) PGC back-end. A short time later, in order to try to convince my bosses that I was capable of more, I showed them PGC and some other side projects I'd worked on. That got me fired. Whoops.

Anyway, a few weeks later I started at a new job as a junior programmer, leveraging what I'd learned with PGC as a foundation. That was 10 years ago tomorrow and I'm now the Director of Strategic Projects and helped that then small business become a very large business. Thing is, it wasn't just the programming experience that I got mileage out of. Managing paid employees who report to you by comparison is nothing... in my various roles for years I was managing a wide variety of people I had never met who were paid nothing to devote an hour or more on a daily basis to contribute to a "fan site".

So part of what was important for me to contribute to this was to put the message out to folks. The window of time you can contribute to things like this can be limited. Almost everyone I've ever known who has contributed to sites like NWR started as just someone who was passionate about playing games. Even people who have writing skills that need work can potentially find a place if they're dedicated and willing to dig and contribute in a variety of ways, writing is a skill that can be refined with practice and direction. If you've thought about trying to join up and have the time and passion to commit what are you waiting for? Even if you've been rejected once or twice, be patient and keep trying to improve yourself. Even as someone who capitalized very little directly from my time in the scene (I've never been able to attend E3 or any major event) the people I've worked with and the experiences I've had were invaluable. As I hope my mini story relates life can have a very odd way of working itself out sometimes. Thing is, opportunities rarely present themselves to people who don't pursue them with passion. Happy Birthday NWR, I hope you continue to be a vehicle for people with dreams and passions to discover their voices.

[Ceric]

I want to share this story from our original site developer, Justin Nation. He founded The 64 Source and later Operation N2000, which eventually merged with Planet GameCube. Justin programmed our original database, as well as the classic green and purple versions of PGC that you might remember from the first half of last decade. He wrote the following story for the site's 12th birthday feature, but it came in late and didn't make it into the feature in time.

In order to relate where I am now I think it is important to know about how PGC (sorry, that's how I really know it) helped put me there. When I decided to "leave the scene" before having my first daughter Billy and I talked about taking the content our friends and I had worked so hard on and folding it into his site. Move forward a few months and even though I was busier with being a dad I was also taking some grad classes on programming and bored at my job... a dangerous combination. The end result a few months later was the original (and utterly pathetic, now) PGC back-end. A short time later, in order to try to convince my bosses that I was capable of more, I showed them PGC and some other side projects I'd worked on. That got me fired. Whoops.

Anyway, a few weeks later I started at a new job as a junior programmer, leveraging what I'd learned with PGC as a foundation. That was 10 years ago tomorrow and I'm now the Director of Strategic Projects and helped that then small business become a very large business. Thing is, it wasn't just the programming experience that I got mileage out of. Managing paid employees who report to you by comparison is nothing... in my various roles for years I was managing a wide variety of people I had never met who were paid nothing to devote an hour or more on a daily basis to contribute to a "fan site".

So part of what was important for me to contribute to this was to put the message out to folks. The window of time you can contribute to things like this can be limited. Almost everyone I've ever known who has contributed to sites like NWR started as just someone who was passionate about playing games. Even people who have writing skills that need work can potentially find a place if they're dedicated and willing to dig and contribute in a variety of ways, writing is a skill that can be refined with practice and direction. If you've thought about trying to join up and have the time and passion to commit what are you waiting for? Even if you've been rejected once or twice, be patient and keep trying to improve yourself. Even as someone who capitalized very little directly from my time in the scene (I've never been able to attend E3 or any major event) the people I've worked with and the experiences I've had were invaluable. As I hope my mini story relates life can have a very odd way of working itself out sometimes. Thing is, opportunities rarely present themselves to people who don't pursue them with passion. Happy Birthday NWR, I hope you continue to be a vehicle for people with dreams and passions to discover their voices.

You know that makes me want to apply for the job.  I'll probably be rejected but, if accepted it might be a good place to direct my job growth.

[Justin Nation]

Thanks for putting that in for a very appropriate opportunity for folks Jonny. Opportunities are only what you make them. 

[bustin98]

It would seem to me that this site would offer a learning opportunity for alternative methods of creating a site. Personally, I use the common PHP/MySql combo, though PostgreSQL wouldn't be all that different.
 
Utilizing HTML5 has been a back and forth thing for me. The standard hasn't been nailed down and isn't expected to for a while yet. There are some interesting things that are coming but so far I haven't seen anything that makes HTML5 a 'must have'.

[RABicle]

Oh wow! I always thought Justin Nation was on the books because he had a cool name.

[ejamer]

This has been in the back of my mind for a while. Has the position been filled? Is it still worth submitting applications, either for current or future consideration?