18F Is Testing Micro-Purchase Auctions | Hacker News Reader

18F Is Testing Micro-Purchase Auctions

micropurchase.18f.gov

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10471677

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10570069

Am I understanding this correctly? Someone was awarded $350 to add 19 lines of CSS?

The auction/requirements: https://micropurchase.18f.gov/auctions/6 The code change: https://github.com/cwarden/micropurchase/commit/9e0f896023c6...

I should sign up! Looks like the other auction/requirements are more involved though.

Sounds like a fantastic deal. Seriously. There's so much government waste that it's a miracle when they pay someone less that $1000 to pick up a pencil.

It's interesting that this time around the bids didn't bottom out at the min. All but one are in the $300-$500 range. The first time they tried this the winning bid was one (1) dollar[1].

[1]: https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/11/06/micro-purchase-lessons/

That $1 bid was someone who wanted to do the project for free. Just thought that should be disclosed.

"I figured it would be cool to be a part of this first micro-purchase experiment and demonstrate that there are people — at least one but I think a lot more — willing and excited to help out on meaningful, civic-minded initiatives," he said in an interview with Federal Times. "I love working on little web projects in my free time. This is $1 more than I make on those and this one actually helps people."

http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/acquisition/gsa...

https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/11/06/micro-purchase-lessons/

https://github.com/18F/calc/pull/256

Great marketplace! Now why is it so damn hard to sign up to do government contracts on this crappy website?

https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/##11#1

I'm still trying to figure this out. I'm stuck at getting myself a D-U-N-S number. D&B can't figure out if I really exist, though they can verify my 15-years-dead father is real and could register a business.

http://www.tomvanantwerp.com/my-kafkaesque-attempt-to-make-a...

It wasn't hard for me to register my LLC for a DUNS number, and I don't recall any sort of onerous verification process, but I also used the free signup for gov't contractors[1]. It still strikes me as extremely strange that government contracts require registration with a private entity—seems like it should be done through the OMB or SBA or something. Be forewarned that if you register a DUNS entity, DnB will hound you with worthless phone calls offering "value added" services (possibly including unnecessary paid "verification"); best to use a Google voice number or a line to which you can otherwise apply a blacklist.

1. http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/displayHomePage.do

I wrote a long step-by-step article about what you need to do [1]. It is written for Australian companies, but only a couple of steps need to be changed for any other country.

1. https://www.tillett.info/2015/12/01/how-to-register-an-austr...

Can anyone explain why an otherwise very forward-looking, user-experienced focus got stuck with an incomprehensible name like "18F?"

See the `.gov` at the end of the name? ~.^

Its name refers to its office location in northwest Washington, D.C., on 18th and F Streets.

I'm sure it doesn't hurt that 18F is the MOS designation for "special forces intelligence sergeant".

What would you have preferred? The Forward-Looking User-Experience-Focused Group -- FLUEF for short?

I mean, I never would have guessed that Apple would be a major computer vender. Or that Sears would be a store. Or that Kellogg would be a food company. Things get stuck with opaque-looking names all the time, if you don't know the history behind them.

I actually think 18F is pretty distinctive and thus a great name.

+1 for 18F. I'd even dig "18F Labs".

The name is an homage to the show 30 rock and their offices are located on 18th and F

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