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They have changed. When I started reading them in 2000, their style was less extreme. Back then they said useful things about design and how people interact wit

They have changed. When I started reading them in 2000, their style was less extreme. Back then they said useful things about design and how people interact with interfaces. Check out their manifesto from 1999: http://37signals.com/manifesto http://37signals.com/manifesto I find myself in agreement with most of what they say. I do not need to filter. I do not need to internally think "Oh, there they go again, leaving it to me to translate their thoughts into something normal." Their style has gotten more extreme over time. They have been bent out of shape by their success. They seem increasingly convinced that their experience allows them to speak with authority about everyone's startup experience.

lkrubner 16y ago
Also, given how verbose they are regarding their success, it would be decent of them to be more transparent about their mistakes. For instance, there was the fact that they store passwords either in clear text or with the possibility of decryption available on their server: http://blog.jgc.org/2009/05/can-you-trust-37signals-with-your.html http://blog.jgc.org/2009/05/can-you-trust-37signals-with-you... The 2 year lag on that deserves some explanation.
lkrubner 16y ago
I think this kind of statement has become increasingly common from them over the years: "I don't understand why our industry seems to be afraid of profits, which really just means you make more money than you spend." http://smallbusiness.aol.com/2010/05/26/37-signals-jason-fried-rework/ http://smallbusiness.aol.com/2010/05/26/37-signals-jason-fri... The accusation is that people in the tech industry are "afraid" of making profits. Of course, we all know that people in the tech industry are experimenting with models where it might be possible to make large profits by giving something away for free. Twitter is free but potentially it is worth a great deal. But the nuances get lost in the writing that the 37 Signals crew engages in.

lkrubner 16y ago

Also, given how verbose they are regarding their success, it would be decent of them to be more transparent about their mistakes. For instance, there was the fact that they store passwords either in clear text or with the possibility of decryption available on their server: http://blog.jgc.org/2009/05/can-you-trust-37signals-with-your.html http://blog.jgc.org/2009/05/can-you-trust-37signals-with-you... The 2 year lag on that deserves some explanation.

lkrubner 16y ago

I think this kind of statement has become increasingly common from them over the years: "I don't understand why our industry seems to be afraid of profits, which really just means you make more money than you spend." http://smallbusiness.aol.com/2010/05/26/37-signals-jason-fried-rework/ http://smallbusiness.aol.com/2010/05/26/37-signals-jason-fri... The accusation is that people in the tech industry are "afraid" of making profits. Of course, we all know that people in the tech industry are experimenting with models where it might be possible to make large profits by giving something away for free. Twitter is free but potentially it is worth a great deal. But the nuances get lost in the writing that the 37 Signals crew engages in.