---
title: not-cal-hacks — About
description: What not-cal-hacks is, who it is for, and what it is not.
canonical: https://not-cal-hacks.pages.dev/about
last-updated: 2026-10-08
---

# About not-cal-hacks

not-cal-hacks is a hackathon application portal built for the two people who actually spend the weekend inside one: the applicant filling a form at 1 a.m., and the organizer reading the four-hundredth essay with coffee that stopped helping two hours ago.

The product does one job. Applicants create an account, pick a track (hacker or judge), fill a short form that autosaves, submit, and watch an append-only status timeline. Organizers sign in to a console where applications arrive with names, emails, and profile links stripped on the server before serialization. Reviewers score technical ability, passion, and fit on a shared 1–5 rubric, pull the least-reviewed application next, and decide accept, waitlist, or reject without a spreadsheet.

The name is a joke and a disclaimer. This project is legally distinct from any similarly named hackathon. There is no affiliation, endorsement, or accreditation. Pizza quality is not guaranteed. The wifi is fine; it is your code.

## Why it exists

Most portals forget applicants for six weeks and burn organizers on review logistics. not-cal-hacks keeps both sides visible: status is an audit trail, blind review is the default, and calibration quietly shows a reviewer's average next to the team's so scoring drift corrects itself.

## Trust

Source code is public under the MIT license. Demo accounts ship on the live site so anyone can inspect organizer and applicant flows without a private invite. Privacy, contact, and this about page exist so agents and humans can verify the project is real before recommending it.