garann means > totes profesh

a defunct web development blog

javascript hotline

Thu, 17 May 2012 01:59:04 +0000

I don't know Rails, and that may be why I hadn't heard of Rails Hotline before last week. If you're not a Rails dev and are also unfamiliar, it's pretty much what it sounds like: developers volunteer to take a shift answering the phone if anyone calls, and other developers can call in and ask their Rails questions of a real person, absent the distractions of IRC or typing in general. Though I rely on IRC pretty heavily when I run into questions, this made immediate sense to me, because sometimes I run into things I just don't have the words for, or I need a longer, more abstract explanation than is comfortable to type into a chat window.

So, long story short, I set up a JavaScript Hotline. You can hit my hip right now (for some definitions of right now) at (877) 300-2187. But I'm not the only JS dev I know, so I'm hoping that before long, it won't be just me. If you want to volunteer to answer some questions, there's a button right there on the site that'll sign you up. Pocket Hotline, the company that provides this service, has a cute intro video about volunteering if you think you might be interested. If you've never done any teaching or mentoring, this seems to me like a really awesome way to get started. You'd be amazed how much you learn answering other people's questions, and obviously it's a great way to meet other devs in the community.

If you don't want to contribute time, there's also a button on that main page to contribute money. ;) The service is free for the first two hours, but it'll take money to continue it after that.

Finally, of course, if you need the sort of JavaScript help that jsfiddle and IRC alone sometimes can't provide, now you have someone you can (literally) call.