This document outlines the Major League Hacking (MLH) Membership Guidelines. MLH provides all MLH Member Events with the following benefits and resources (upon availability) to ease the lives of organizers and improve the hacker experience.
As an MLH Member Event all hackathons receive the following benefits (upon availability).
- Listed on Season Page. Events will be listed on their region's official hackathon season page.
- Onsite Support. MLHers are extensions of MLH Member Event organizing teams. They’re able to help coordinate judging, mentor hackers, set up food, or even take out the trash. Whatever a hackathon needs to ensure that an event runs smoothly MLH will be available to provide assistance.
- Office Hours. Our team helps support over 250 student hackathons every year. We've helped deal with all sorts of problems and questions. You may request MLH Office Hours and tap into the MLH team's expert advice and mentorship when you need it in a 1-on-1 environment.
- MLH emergency budget All MLH Member Events encounter a 30-50% attrition rate in registrations. To combat this, MLH Member events typically overbook for the hackathon. The uncertainty of attendance can be scary, so we’ll help you. If you overshoot your attendance goal, we'll pay for the food costs, to celebrate and also make sure your event doesn't go over budget.
- Access to the Software Lab. Every hacker who participates in an MLH Member Event gets a bundle of free services called the MLH Software Lab. This includes things such as web hosting credit and free domain names.
- Access to the Hardware Lab. The MLH Hardware lab contains the latest and greatest hardware for hackers to utilize for free at all MLH Member Events. The MLH Hardware Lab is dependent on availability.
- Prizes for winners. All MLH Member Events are provided a level of basic prizing such as medals or finalist pins. Special category prizes. From time to time, MLH will offer special category prizes to hackers such as a prize for the best domain name, or a prize for the best use of AWS. We will confirm these prizes with events beforehand.
- Season and Sponsor Swag. MLH Member Events will receive assorted swag including season shirts, season stickers, event specific I-Demoed stickers, MLH Stickers, Github stickers, HelloFlo hygiene items. Events may also receive assorted swag from MLH season sponsors such as pens and t-shirts.
- Post-event surveys. All MLH Member Events are included in post-event surveys. These surveys will be shared with all organizers in addition to postseason reporting to provide analytics into event metrics relative to similar events and the rest of the league.
- Social media promotion. All MLH Member Events will be provided promotion to the network of tens of thousands of hackers who participate in MLH hackathons through social media and/or the MLH monthly newsletter.
- Regional specific promotion. We know that hackers within a 6 hour driving radius are the most likely to attend your event. Our team will work with you to promote your hackathon to the attendees most likely to attend.
- MLH photographer. An MLH photographer will be on site at some MLH Member Events to capture and record the special moments that happen at every hackathon. The MLH photographer is dependent on availability.
- MLH Coordinated Judging We know that judging is one of the most stressful periods during a hackathon. Our team is optionally able to coordinate judging for you during your event.
- Mini-Events. MLHers are able to work together with MLH Member Events to host mini events to provide a fun break during hacking. Mini-Events include Cup Stacking, !Light, Slideshare karaoke or Werewolf. Which Mini-Events is hosted is dependent on availability of supplies.
- GitHub New Member Grant. All first time hackathons that become MLH Member Events are eligible for a $1000 sponsorship and one sponsored ticket to Hackcon, subject to approval from GitHub.
- MyMLH. MLH Member Events are able to utilize MyMLH, our single sign-on hackathon OAuth tool, to help streamline the process of getting hackers registered for their events. MLH Member Events are also able to receive support configuring MyMLH upon request.
- Priority Access to MLH Localhost MLH Member Events receive priority access to MLH Localhost. MLH Localhost is a series of expert workshops that an Organizer can learn to run on their own campus to engage their hacker club, build a community, and teach valuable skills to their fellow students.
- Uphold MLH Community Values. We come from the hacker community and set high expectations for MLH Member Events. Hackathons are expected to uphold the MLH Community Values, the MLH Hackathon Rules. In addition, to insure that MLH Hackathons are a safe space this includes abiding by the MLH Code of Conduct. At least one organizer on the team is expected to review the MLH Incident Response Guide that MLH Reps along with organizers may inact in case of a Code of Conduct violation.
- Attend a call with MLH 2 weeks before the event. MLH Member Events use this call to coordinate any on-site support or shipments they are receiving from MLH and to make sure they’re fully prepare for the event.
- Attendance minimum. MLH Member Events must have 100+ people in attendance (for United States) and 80+ people in attendance (for the rest of North America and Europe). Events will need to share their registration numbers at least 1 month prior to the event to show that they are trending towards that number.
- Send registration data to MLH at least 72 hours before the event. MLH uses this data to help MLH Member Events increase attendance numbers, compile statistics, communicate important information to attendees, and ensure attendees who violate the code of conduct or rules do not attend the event. Additionally to standardize data collection throughout the league, MLH Member events will collect information about schools utilizing a dropdown question and the list of schools verified by MLH.
- Compile and submit hack submission and check-in data to MLH at most 14 days after the event. MLH uses this data for season rankings and will send attendees two emails: (1) a post event survey to collect their feedback about the event and MLH and (2) an opt-in for future info about hackathons and the league. Devpost and Hacker Earth submissions will include MLH branding and be automatically provided to us at the end of the event.
- Include the official MLH Season Branding on their website, post league branding around the event, and distribute season swag. MLH Member Events are proud to support the student hackathon movement and display the MLH logo and season badge on their website and at their event alongside their own event branding as a commitment of quality to attendees. They enable attendees to support the movement by passing out season swag (stickers, t-shirts, etc.) during the event and making MLH resources available at an MLH Table.
- Have an MLH representative speak at the event’s opening ceremony for 5 minutes. MLH Member Events recognize that many attendees have never been to a hackathon before attending their event and many attendees won’t know what MLH is or what being an MLH Member hackathon means. MLH Member Events have an MLH rep speak to explain these things.
- Distribute MLH medals, sponsor promos and prizes to attendees. MLH Member Events recognize that MLH’s season sponsors enable the league to exist. If an MLH representative is not on site, MLH Member Events ensure that MLH season sponsor promos (Ex. free domains, hosting credit, etc) and prizes are properly distributed between the MLH table and checkin tables. In addition, an MLH representative will join the organizing team during closing ceremony to help announce and distribute out the medals and prizes.
- Grant MLH permission to record and publish photos and video of the event and the exclusive right to produce commercial video content (this does not include TV news or sponsor/event recaps). MLH Members recognize that having photos or videos of the event is hugely beneficial for attendees and sponsors. MLH publishes these photos and videos on its websites and may use them for recaps or to promote the league.
- Grant MLH an indefinite license to use event name, branding, and materials to market the event and the league. MLH puts the event on the official season schedule and promotes it to the MLH Community, but needs your permission to do that. Additionally, MLH grants MLH Member Events a non-exclusive license to use the MLH name and brand in conjunction with the event. MLH reserves the right to terminate the organizer's license at any time in its absolute discretion.
- Ensure that any MLH property is properly cared for and returned on time. MLH Member Events recognize that any MLH property they borrow (hardware, signage, mini-events, etc) is used by other members during the year. If any supplies are lost, damaged, or late, other members will be unable to utilize them.
- Manage and run the MLH Hardware Lab MLH Member Events recognize that managing the MLH Hardware Lab takes a lot of time. To ensure that Hackers have uninterrupted access to Hardware Lab, MLH Member Hackathons must provide a volunteer to run the lab during their event. MLH will train Volunteers to utilize the MLH Hardware Lab Website to manage and track hardware during an event. Hardware labs are required to utilize a MLH table cloth and place MLH backdrops and signage around the hardware area.
- Allocate space for MLH Sponsors in the EU & Mexico. Due to the nature of the EU and Mexico, MLH Member Events must offer MLH Season Sponsors space at their event if they request it. Space can include a table at the event, their branding on the hackathon website, an API demo during opening ceremony, an extra mini-event run by MLH on behalf of these sponsors, or a chance to award their category prize during closing ceremony. MLH Season Sponsors allow the league to exist and expand and MLH Member Events recognize that without season sponsors this would not be possible.
- Attendees must understand English MLH resources are currently only available in English. We are however able to provide Spanish speaking representatives to Mexico events. To ensure hackers are able to take advantage of MLH resources and representatives at events, we can only provide full-support to events where attendees are able to understand English. We recognize the world has many languages beyond English and will do our best to accommodate more where possible.
Major League Hacking reserves the right to revise, make exceptions to, or otherwise amend these policies in whole or in part. If you have any questions regarding these policies, please contact MLH by e-mail at hi@mlh.io.
This guide was last updated on: November 15, 2017