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This is a fantastic answer, and I wish more folks were this dedicated to making sure they have something great before trying to hawk it. That said, I do wish I

This is a fantastic answer, and I wish more folks were this dedicated to making sure they have something great before trying to hawk it. That said, I do wish I could pay for (at least) a TB of Keybase storage right now. :D

EGreg 9y ago
David Heinemeier Hansson and the Basecamp guys would disagree :)
- 1123581321 9y ago
  I think Keybase is more like what Joel Spolsky describes as a "horizontal company" that's appropriate to try to build after already having made money. https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2012/01/06/how-trello-is-different/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2012/01/06/how-trello-is-diff...
  - r0ze-at-hn 9y ago
    From Joel's article: > That means that our highest priority is removing any obstacles to adoption. Anything that people might use as a reason not to use Trello has to be found and eliminated. In this case I am weary of using something like this that is free because I have seen so many things in the past that were free only to shutdown rapidly after they grew in size, but with no way to pay for themselves and had to pivot or sell out. So being free is actually an obstacle in adoption.
    - jcahill 9y ago
      Fortunately, Trello's free plan limits are so low that very little of substance will be lost.
    - dasil003 9y ago
      I am intimately aware of this frustration, but what's the alternative? Stable companies also kill or abandon projects. The whole software and consumer product ecosystems are constantly churning. Personally I'm old enough that I don't have to try every new service, but if something is solving a real problem in the short-term, I will give it a try and hope for the best. Keybase is definitely in this bucket. Worst case they go away and I have to come up with a different solution, but right now it's adding tremendous value.
      - michaelt 9y ago
        but what's the alternative? Stable companies also kill or abandon projects. The alternative is products which, considered in isolation and with all costs taken into account, produce more revenue than they cost to maintain. Nobody shuts down a project that costs $500,000 per annum and brings in $1,000,000 per annum. Of course, 'all costs' there doesn't just mean employee salary - it has to include difficult-to-measure costs like the opportunity costs of the attention it demands from executives, paying a portion of the support costs of any legacy systems it needs, and suchlike.

EGreg 9y ago

David Heinemeier Hansson and the Basecamp guys would disagree :)

1123581321 9y ago
I think Keybase is more like what Joel Spolsky describes as a "horizontal company" that's appropriate to try to build after already having made money. https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2012/01/06/how-trello-is-different/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2012/01/06/how-trello-is-diff...
- r0ze-at-hn 9y ago
  From Joel's article: > That means that our highest priority is removing any obstacles to adoption. Anything that people might use as a reason not to use Trello has to be found and eliminated. In this case I am weary of using something like this that is free because I have seen so many things in the past that were free only to shutdown rapidly after they grew in size, but with no way to pay for themselves and had to pivot or sell out. So being free is actually an obstacle in adoption.
  - jcahill 9y ago
    Fortunately, Trello's free plan limits are so low that very little of substance will be lost.
  - dasil003 9y ago
    I am intimately aware of this frustration, but what's the alternative? Stable companies also kill or abandon projects. The whole software and consumer product ecosystems are constantly churning. Personally I'm old enough that I don't have to try every new service, but if something is solving a real problem in the short-term, I will give it a try and hope for the best. Keybase is definitely in this bucket. Worst case they go away and I have to come up with a different solution, but right now it's adding tremendous value.
    - michaelt 9y ago
      but what's the alternative? Stable companies also kill or abandon projects. The alternative is products which, considered in isolation and with all costs taken into account, produce more revenue than they cost to maintain. Nobody shuts down a project that costs $500,000 per annum and brings in $1,000,000 per annum. Of course, 'all costs' there doesn't just mean employee salary - it has to include difficult-to-measure costs like the opportunity costs of the attention it demands from executives, paying a portion of the support costs of any legacy systems it needs, and suchlike.