Hm.. Well... I'm not sure, to be honest. I'd kinda have to see it first to see if it'd fit in Research and Development; generally for that you need a sloid enough basis for your research, even if you're aiming for people to submit info anyway. I know that might seem unreasonable but otherwise we'd be getting loads of people posting topics asking for "only experienced hackers research plz". This way is more fair- you do the foundation work (to a reasonable extent) yourself, then others chip in with their knowledge.
The only real way I can know if your thread would be viable is if I were to see it (so you'd have to submit it)- feel free to submit your thread, and I'll see whether it'll fit or not.
Also, regarding your hack thread... (sorry, been a bit busy and some VMs/PMs just slip past me); in this regard, "progress" doesn't mean story progression, but general work on the hack (touch-ups, error corrections, and so on). "The hacks we're used to" are the hacks that have met the standards that we've set for the showcase.
But I'm not saying your hack won't ever fit the showcase. In fact I think I'll play it now and see what further insight I can get on it.