It seems like there is a market mechanism missing here. We shouldn't be handing out free spots just for free. It should be in the form of, "I'll pay for your free spot if you commit to X hours of programming in return." Perhaps we use Karma as a proxy for trustworthiness and commitment?
So here's the deal I will offer. I will sign up over the weekend, and will give the free offer to someone. If you have over 1000 Karma, list how many hours of programming you'll offer me on a silly TBD side project (don't offer anything ridiculous like 100) and I'll pay for at least one of you. (I'm between gigs, otherwise I'd offer this to a dozen folks) You just have to promise that you'll finish the class no matter what, and give me a couple hours.
So here's the deal I will offer. I will sign up over the weekend, and will give the free offer to someone. If you have over 1000 Karma, list how many hours of programming you'll offer me on a silly TBD side project (don't offer anything ridiculous like 100) and I'll pay for at least one of you. (I'm between gigs, otherwise I'd offer this to a dozen folks) You just have to promise that you'll finish the class no matter what, and give me a couple hours.