6 ms·

Hi folks, Ben from Dropbox on the desktop client team -- This is an experiment that is being tested with a fraction of users primarily on beta releases (which

Hi folks, Ben from Dropbox on the desktop client team -- This is an experiment that is being tested with a fraction of users primarily on beta releases (which Seth is on, as evidenced by the version number in his screenshots). We haven’t shipped it to everyone so that we can continue to iterate and incorporate feedback. I checked with the team about the “Finder Toolbar” drop down and it looks like it requires a restart of the Dropbox client in order to take affect — let us know if that doesn’t work.

sethvargo 10y ago
I have restarted both the client and my computer. No results.
- newhouseb 10y ago
  Thanks, circling back with the team... Edit: if you'd be willing to file a ticket here: https://www.dropbox.com/support/s/219/5481540/c/219 https://www.dropbox.com/support/s/219/5481540/c/219 with "att. Of Luke" in the subject it'd really help us get to the bottom of this.
- nl 10y ago
  Why didn't you post that you were on a beta version branch? Choosing to use beta software and then posting rants about something you don't like is a pretty shitty thing to do, especially without disclosing you are using a beta.
  - moefogs 10y ago
    Because he hadn't selected early access, dropbox just opted a few regular users into this. It's a pretty shitty thing to be mean to somebody for that, even if you'd been right; but it's atrociously shitty when you were wrong. And you were wrong. But don't worry, DropBox makes pg rich, and HN loves assholes, so you'll get upvoted for your unwarranted personal attack.
  - nl 10y ago
    @moefogs - your reply is dead so I can't reply directly. You are wrong though: you choose a beta build via this: https://www.dropboxforum.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/200210355-Desktop-Client-Builds https://www.dropboxforum.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/20021... Edit: Also the language I used was a reference to the language in the authors post. I agree somewhat that was unnecessary, and I accept that I could have said the same thing different ways.
rrggrr 10y ago
Question... When are you folks going to grow up and iterate and ship transparently and responsibly? Will that be before or after I have to cancel my account?
- saynsedit 10y ago
  It's not a matter of maturity, it's a matter of which development methodology is conducive to rapid progress for the greater good.
- vertex-four 10y ago
  If you intentionally install a beta version of a piece of software, you get to deal with bugs. If you don't want bugs, you stick to stable versions. You are literally choosing to test new, buggy functionality by not using a stable version.
  - jkmcf 10y ago
    They don't report any change logs, features, bug fixes, or anything else regardless of whether it is a beta or stable release. When shit goes sideways, you have no idea what is broken. Logging also seems mostly non-existent, at least via macOS' Console app. Shit went sideways around 9/23 for many people across different platforms. It was definitely on the service side, but status.dropbox.com reported no problems. At some point on 9/26, someone fixed it, but no one was notified. Most people eventually re-tried, for the 100th time, of unlinking and re-linking their account. No system logs showing problems and no reports from Dropbox. If it wasn't such an established service, i.e. widely supported by applications, I'd have ditched it long ago.
edoceo 10y ago
When will you implement email verification before creating accounts? Security is job 9 at DB.
Longhanks 10y ago
Hi Ben from Dropbox. You seem to completely miss the point. It's not about the feature itself, it's your way of "hacking" or "injecting" Dropbox features into places the user didn't expect. This is not the first time that Dropbox ignores the system guidelines (or even permissions if the user explicitly disallowed Dropbox access to Accessibility features). Why are you ignoring the feedback concerning Dropbox' way of "hacking" itself into system areas like Finder?
- saynsedit 10y ago
  Pretty sure most people use Dropbox exactly because of its seamless Finder integration...
  - evan_ 10y ago
    File system integration, maybe. Not finder integration.
    - acdha 10y ago
      To normal people, those are the same - and convenience matters more than some seemingly arcane technical nuance.
    - nik_0_0 10y ago
      Finder and Windows Explorer integration is great. This may be a bit intrusive, and it is a beta option, and it can be disabled. On Windows, immediately adding Dropbox to 'Favourites', and the icon integration to show sync status is an awesome feature. It is invasive for Dropbox to hijack your icons and overlay a checkbox? Yup. But incredibly helpful in my opinion. Maybe it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the close integration with file browsers on multiple OSes is (was?) definitely one of the differentiating aspects of Dropbox, polarizing or not.
      - nxc18 10y ago
        Although I have mixed feelings about Dropbox's approach on Mac, there is one key difference to the Windows implementation that makes the situation incomparable: Windows explicitly provides APIs for file badges and other extensibility features.
allending 10y ago
Stop. Hacking. My. Mac. Make every shit feature like this explicitly opt in. FFS any decent Product Manager would know this is a ridiculous way of integration (mysterious and with no obvious control). I'm about ready to move my business somewhere else.
- seanieb 10y ago
  You do a realize that if Dropbox used only official API's it would never have been a product in the first place right? Other products sucked because they used the official crappy Apple API's.
st3v3r 10y ago
Why on earth do you people want to keep fucking with the OS like this? Why can't you just knock it off?
tdkl 10y ago
Hello, could you please start including proper changelogs in your release notes on the Dropbox forum? Beta testing makes no sense when the changelog states "bug fixes and improvements". That's also a common complaint of the people in the forum, which you're ignoring completely.
- danieldk 10y ago
  It seems that they are ignoring pretty much any user feedback. People are complaining everywhere about them polluting the web interface Dropbox Business/Team advertising, even for paying Pro users. The best you can get is 'I will forward this to the team', but usually there is a wall of silence. Please Dropbox, fix this, listen to your most valuable asset, paying users!
cstrat 10y ago
I am going to cancel my premium membership. It was due for renewal, but I am not going to do it. Don't like the direction this is all heading.

sethvargo 10y ago

I have restarted both the client and my computer. No results.

newhouseb 10y ago
Thanks, circling back with the team... Edit: if you'd be willing to file a ticket here: https://www.dropbox.com/support/s/219/5481540/c/219 https://www.dropbox.com/support/s/219/5481540/c/219 with "att. Of Luke" in the subject it'd really help us get to the bottom of this.
nl 10y ago
Why didn't you post that you were on a beta version branch? Choosing to use beta software and then posting rants about something you don't like is a pretty shitty thing to do, especially without disclosing you are using a beta.
- moefogs 10y ago
  Because he hadn't selected early access, dropbox just opted a few regular users into this. It's a pretty shitty thing to be mean to somebody for that, even if you'd been right; but it's atrociously shitty when you were wrong. And you were wrong. But don't worry, DropBox makes pg rich, and HN loves assholes, so you'll get upvoted for your unwarranted personal attack.
- nl 10y ago
  @moefogs - your reply is dead so I can't reply directly. You are wrong though: you choose a beta build via this: https://www.dropboxforum.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/200210355-Desktop-Client-Builds https://www.dropboxforum.com/hc/en-us/community/topics/20021... Edit: Also the language I used was a reference to the language in the authors post. I agree somewhat that was unnecessary, and I accept that I could have said the same thing different ways.

rrggrr 10y ago

Question... When are you folks going to grow up and iterate and ship transparently and responsibly? Will that be before or after I have to cancel my account?

saynsedit 10y ago
It's not a matter of maturity, it's a matter of which development methodology is conducive to rapid progress for the greater good.
vertex-four 10y ago
If you intentionally install a beta version of a piece of software, you get to deal with bugs. If you don't want bugs, you stick to stable versions. You are literally choosing to test new, buggy functionality by not using a stable version.
- jkmcf 10y ago
  They don't report any change logs, features, bug fixes, or anything else regardless of whether it is a beta or stable release. When shit goes sideways, you have no idea what is broken. Logging also seems mostly non-existent, at least via macOS' Console app. Shit went sideways around 9/23 for many people across different platforms. It was definitely on the service side, but status.dropbox.com reported no problems. At some point on 9/26, someone fixed it, but no one was notified. Most people eventually re-tried, for the 100th time, of unlinking and re-linking their account. No system logs showing problems and no reports from Dropbox. If it wasn't such an established service, i.e. widely supported by applications, I'd have ditched it long ago.

edoceo 10y ago

When will you implement email verification before creating accounts? Security is job 9 at DB.

Longhanks 10y ago

Hi Ben from Dropbox. You seem to completely miss the point. It's not about the feature itself, it's your way of "hacking" or "injecting" Dropbox features into places the user didn't expect. This is not the first time that Dropbox ignores the system guidelines (or even permissions if the user explicitly disallowed Dropbox access to Accessibility features). Why are you ignoring the feedback concerning Dropbox' way of "hacking" itself into system areas like Finder?

saynsedit 10y ago
Pretty sure most people use Dropbox exactly because of its seamless Finder integration...
- evan_ 10y ago
  File system integration, maybe. Not finder integration.
  - acdha 10y ago
    To normal people, those are the same - and convenience matters more than some seemingly arcane technical nuance.
  - nik_0_0 10y ago
    Finder and Windows Explorer integration is great. This may be a bit intrusive, and it is a beta option, and it can be disabled. On Windows, immediately adding Dropbox to 'Favourites', and the icon integration to show sync status is an awesome feature. It is invasive for Dropbox to hijack your icons and overlay a checkbox? Yup. But incredibly helpful in my opinion. Maybe it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the close integration with file browsers on multiple OSes is (was?) definitely one of the differentiating aspects of Dropbox, polarizing or not.
    - nxc18 10y ago
      Although I have mixed feelings about Dropbox's approach on Mac, there is one key difference to the Windows implementation that makes the situation incomparable: Windows explicitly provides APIs for file badges and other extensibility features.

allending 10y ago

Stop. Hacking. My. Mac. Make every shit feature like this explicitly opt in. FFS any decent Product Manager would know this is a ridiculous way of integration (mysterious and with no obvious control). I'm about ready to move my business somewhere else.

seanieb 10y ago
You do a realize that if Dropbox used only official API's it would never have been a product in the first place right? Other products sucked because they used the official crappy Apple API's.

st3v3r 10y ago

Why on earth do you people want to keep fucking with the OS like this? Why can't you just knock it off?

tdkl 10y ago

Hello, could you please start including proper changelogs in your release notes on the Dropbox forum? Beta testing makes no sense when the changelog states "bug fixes and improvements". That's also a common complaint of the people in the forum, which you're ignoring completely.

danieldk 10y ago
It seems that they are ignoring pretty much any user feedback. People are complaining everywhere about them polluting the web interface Dropbox Business/Team advertising, even for paying Pro users. The best you can get is 'I will forward this to the team', but usually there is a wall of silence. Please Dropbox, fix this, listen to your most valuable asset, paying users!

cstrat 10y ago

I am going to cancel my premium membership. It was due for renewal, but I am not going to do it. Don't like the direction this is all heading.