8 ms·

I'm not sure "Browser" is a good term for this; I get that they are trying to convey that it's just a client for the existing independent Etherium network, but

I'm not sure "Browser" is a good term for this; I get that they are trying to convey that it's just a client for the existing independent Etherium network, but to 99% of people, "browser" == "web browser". It's just going to cause confusion, especially in non-technical users (which seems to be a user base they are trying to go for here). Even as a developer, when I saw "tokenbrowser.com", I was expecting to see a web browser. Visually, it looks more like a chat client (makes sense since they are taking inspiration from WeChat).

to_bpr 10y ago
Likewise. I applaud their idea and technical work but their messaging needs an overhaul to make it more accessible/consumable to the average person.
YPCrumble 10y ago
I just clicked because I thought it was a cool new web browser. I don't care about Ethereum and it feels like clickbait to me.
- paulddraper 10y ago
  The domain name is click bait?
  - xeromal 10y ago
    I was deceived too. "Token App Browser" is more apt if that's what it actually can do.
  - devmunchies 10y ago
    People create language, language doesn't create people. Meaning, words mean what the majority of people think they mean.
  - CrystalLangUser 10y ago
    If the vast majority of people assume browser == web browser, then yes.
  - moomin 10y ago
    theysaidadomainnamecouldntbeclickbaityoullneverbelievewhathappenednext.com
    - paulddraper 10y ago
      https://www.godaddy.com/domains/searchresults.aspx?checkAvail=1&tmskey=&domainToCheck=theysaidadomainnamecouldntbeclickbaityoullneverbelievewhathappenednext.com https://www.godaddy.com/domains/searchresults.aspx?checkAvai... > We were unable to complete your search. Please try again.
- droopybuns 10y ago
  Agree. I thought it might have been a better execution of brave payments. Frankly, I think brave needs to look at this and realize they could race to be a point of sale payment solution. This miscommunication makes me realize what brave payments could turn into.
omginternets 10y ago
Hmm, I'm going swim against the current and say I like the fact that it's called a browser. I like this because it is a browser, albeit not a web browser. I think this is exactly what's missing from blockchain-derived technologies: a simple human interface to remote resources. More to the point, calling this thing a browser anchors it firmly into a well-known context. This should be useful for explaining it to our parents.
- paulddraper 10y ago
  Agreed. I'm looking at the Apache LDAP browser right now. Not a spec of HTML anywhere.
  - pimlottc 10y ago
    "Apache Directory Studio™: The Eclipse-based LDAP browser and directory client" Sounds like that is a tool meant for technical users, e.g. IT staff, though, not general users.
    - omginternets 10y ago
      I think the point still stands: calling something a browser implies that it's used for browsing. Most people will immediately think of a web browser, but it's still useful to frame things as "a browser, but not for the web. For something else".
    - paulddraper 10y ago
      Is this not HN????
      - sanswork 10y ago
        If HN is the only market for this product then this would make sense as an argument but the OP was talking about the general public.
- pimlottc 10y ago
intrasight 10y ago
Is unfortunate, IMHO, that "browser" as come to mean "web browser". What are we supposed to call user interfaces that browser other information representations?
- pre 10y ago
  Has it though? Does nobody else use a file-browser any more? I'm mostly command-line but even I use a file-browser fairly often.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - nostrademons 10y ago
    Most people I know never called that a file-browser in the first place. It was just "my files", as if the files were things in their own right that just appeared on screen. OS vendors have played into that, with icon labels that say "My Documents" or "All my files". It's to their advantage to not let anyone know that there's a separate program that sits on top of the filesystem to show the contents of the filesystem. Most people don't care how things work as long as they work. For that matter, I know a number of folks who don't know what a web browser is either. It's just "The Internet", thanks to Microsoft's marketing, or "the Googles", thanks to Google's. When I used to read Google user feedback, it was amazing how many people thought that anything that happened online or offline due to a Google Search was Google's fault - we'd get feedback like "The plumber came 2 hours late...I want my money back!"
    - pimlottc 10y ago
      I agree. It is always important to remember that to most "normal people" this stuff - the Internet, the web, their smartphone apps - are a huge clumpy ball of undifferentiated "magic". And that's not because they're stupid people, but because this stuff really is quite complicated and most people already have plenty of other things to worry about.
infodroid 10y ago
Yesterday there was a discussion [1] about a similar app named Status, which calls itself a "Mobile Ethereum OS" [2]. And between "browser" and "OS", I'm not even sure which is the worse way to describe this type of app. Perhaps a more constructive question would be: what is the best way to describe such apps? [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14161695 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14161695 [2] https://wiki.status.im https://wiki.status.im
CharlesW 10y ago
> I'm not sure "Browser" is a good term for this Having been on the marketing side of a consumer product which used "browser" to describe what it was, I can confirm that "browser" = "web browser" to nearly everyone (analysts included) and is truly, sincerely not worth fighting. In my experience, until they fix the "browser" positioning, nearly every conversation they have with anyone who might care about the actual product will include 2-5 minutes of explaining and rationalizing the use of a word that people already believe they understand.

to_bpr 10y ago

Likewise. I applaud their idea and technical work but their messaging needs an overhaul to make it more accessible/consumable to the average person.

YPCrumble 10y ago

I just clicked because I thought it was a cool new web browser. I don't care about Ethereum and it feels like clickbait to me.

paulddraper 10y ago
The domain name is click bait?
- xeromal 10y ago
  I was deceived too. "Token App Browser" is more apt if that's what it actually can do.
- devmunchies 10y ago
  People create language, language doesn't create people. Meaning, words mean what the majority of people think they mean.
- CrystalLangUser 10y ago
  If the vast majority of people assume browser == web browser, then yes.
- moomin 10y ago
  theysaidadomainnamecouldntbeclickbaityoullneverbelievewhathappenednext.com
  - paulddraper 10y ago
    https://www.godaddy.com/domains/searchresults.aspx?checkAvail=1&tmskey=&domainToCheck=theysaidadomainnamecouldntbeclickbaityoullneverbelievewhathappenednext.com https://www.godaddy.com/domains/searchresults.aspx?checkAvai... > We were unable to complete your search. Please try again.
droopybuns 10y ago
Agree. I thought it might have been a better execution of brave payments. Frankly, I think brave needs to look at this and realize they could race to be a point of sale payment solution. This miscommunication makes me realize what brave payments could turn into.

omginternets 10y ago

Hmm, I'm going swim against the current and say I like the fact that it's called a browser. I like this because it is a browser, albeit not a web browser. I think this is exactly what's missing from blockchain-derived technologies: a simple human interface to remote resources. More to the point, calling this thing a browser anchors it firmly into a well-known context. This should be useful for explaining it to our parents.

paulddraper 10y ago
Agreed. I'm looking at the Apache LDAP browser right now. Not a spec of HTML anywhere.
- pimlottc 10y ago
  "Apache Directory Studio™: The Eclipse-based LDAP browser and directory client" Sounds like that is a tool meant for technical users, e.g. IT staff, though, not general users.
  - omginternets 10y ago
    I think the point still stands: calling something a browser implies that it's used for browsing. Most people will immediately think of a web browser, but it's still useful to frame things as "a browser, but not for the web. For something else".
  - paulddraper 10y ago
    Is this not HN????
    - sanswork 10y ago
      If HN is the only market for this product then this would make sense as an argument but the OP was talking about the general public.
pimlottc 10y ago

intrasight 10y ago

Is unfortunate, IMHO, that "browser" as come to mean "web browser". What are we supposed to call user interfaces that browser other information representations?

pre 10y ago
Has it though? Does nobody else use a file-browser any more? I'm mostly command-line but even I use a file-browser fairly often.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- nostrademons 10y ago
  Most people I know never called that a file-browser in the first place. It was just "my files", as if the files were things in their own right that just appeared on screen. OS vendors have played into that, with icon labels that say "My Documents" or "All my files". It's to their advantage to not let anyone know that there's a separate program that sits on top of the filesystem to show the contents of the filesystem. Most people don't care how things work as long as they work. For that matter, I know a number of folks who don't know what a web browser is either. It's just "The Internet", thanks to Microsoft's marketing, or "the Googles", thanks to Google's. When I used to read Google user feedback, it was amazing how many people thought that anything that happened online or offline due to a Google Search was Google's fault - we'd get feedback like "The plumber came 2 hours late...I want my money back!"
  - pimlottc 10y ago
    I agree. It is always important to remember that to most "normal people" this stuff - the Internet, the web, their smartphone apps - are a huge clumpy ball of undifferentiated "magic". And that's not because they're stupid people, but because this stuff really is quite complicated and most people already have plenty of other things to worry about.

infodroid 10y ago

Yesterday there was a discussion [1] about a similar app named Status, which calls itself a "Mobile Ethereum OS" [2]. And between "browser" and "OS", I'm not even sure which is the worse way to describe this type of app. Perhaps a more constructive question would be: what is the best way to describe such apps? [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14161695 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14161695 [2] https://wiki.status.im https://wiki.status.im

CharlesW 10y ago

> I'm not sure "Browser" is a good term for this Having been on the marketing side of a consumer product which used "browser" to describe what it was, I can confirm that "browser" = "web browser" to nearly everyone (analysts included) and is truly, sincerely not worth fighting. In my experience, until they fix the "browser" positioning, nearly every conversation they have with anyone who might care about the actual product will include 2-5 minutes of explaining and rationalizing the use of a word that people already believe they understand.