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Does this happen in software too? Would Git be languishing unknown on SourceForge if it hadn't been written by Torvalds? Edit: I'm sure it's a big factor in ap

Does this happen in software too? Would Git be languishing unknown on SourceForge if it hadn't been written by Torvalds? Edit: I'm sure it's a big factor in app stores.

crispyporkbites 8y ago
Potentially It actually puts me off writing some OSS libraries as it’s hard to know if anyone will appreciate them. If you already have an audience you know you’ll get some feedback and initial users / contributers.
- aaronbrethorst 8y ago
  I think, as a rule, you're better off extracting OSS libraries from things you've built. That way you know that you are already appreciating them.
im3w1l 8y ago
I'm sure it does. But it goes both ways. Because if you're famous people will start using it based on trust and if it turns out to be crap people will feel betrayed and be angry and you'll lose the trust.
- bartread 8y ago
  It does indeed. Think Peter Molyneux and Godus.
  - incompatible 8y ago
    If they are famous they can probably withstand the occasional flop, although I suppose writers, actors etc., have been known to fall out of fashion entirely.
    - bartread 8y ago
      The manner of the flop is important as well. The reason Peter Molyneux's reputation has taken such a pummelling over Godus is the way he handled - or mishandled - the crowdfunding.
neilk 8y ago
There are a number of other projects that used the same concepts, so, fame was definitely a factor. But I think it was more important that Torvalds was the leader of an important software project, could mandate its use, and recruit maintainers, despite the project’s immaturity in the early stages. Torvalds’ skill did matter, though. He understood the essence of git’s predecessors, and wrote a credible system that had very good performance from day one.
raverbashing 8y ago
The main issue with git isn't that it was written by Torvalds (it is maintained by other people as well), but the fact that it was used to maintain the Linux Kernel
grosjona 8y ago
Yes, if it wasn't for Github, we would probably all have been using Mercurial which is simpler and more user friendly.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
There are so many interesting projects out there, really great stuff with great ideas and elegant implementation, languishing in obscurity because they lack the critical mass to start growing. There are a lot of open source operating systems that are foundationally much better suited to the desktop than Linux, for instance, but no one uses them because they don't have Linux's driver or application library, which is because they don't have enough contributors to catch up, which is because no one uses them...

Does this happen in software too? Would Git be languishing unknown on SourceForge if it hadn't been written by Torvalds? Edit: I'm sure it's a big factor in app stores.

crispyporkbites 8y ago

Potentially It actually puts me off writing some OSS libraries as it’s hard to know if anyone will appreciate them. If you already have an audience you know you’ll get some feedback and initial users / contributers.

aaronbrethorst 8y ago
I think, as a rule, you're better off extracting OSS libraries from things you've built. That way you know that you are already appreciating them.

im3w1l 8y ago

I'm sure it does. But it goes both ways. Because if you're famous people will start using it based on trust and if it turns out to be crap people will feel betrayed and be angry and you'll lose the trust.

bartread 8y ago
It does indeed. Think Peter Molyneux and Godus.
- incompatible 8y ago
  If they are famous they can probably withstand the occasional flop, although I suppose writers, actors etc., have been known to fall out of fashion entirely.
  - bartread 8y ago
    The manner of the flop is important as well. The reason Peter Molyneux's reputation has taken such a pummelling over Godus is the way he handled - or mishandled - the crowdfunding.

neilk 8y ago

There are a number of other projects that used the same concepts, so, fame was definitely a factor. But I think it was more important that Torvalds was the leader of an important software project, could mandate its use, and recruit maintainers, despite the project’s immaturity in the early stages. Torvalds’ skill did matter, though. He understood the essence of git’s predecessors, and wrote a credible system that had very good performance from day one.

raverbashing 8y ago

The main issue with git isn't that it was written by Torvalds (it is maintained by other people as well), but the fact that it was used to maintain the Linux Kernel

grosjona 8y ago

Yes, if it wasn't for Github, we would probably all have been using Mercurial which is simpler and more user friendly.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago

There are so many interesting projects out there, really great stuff with great ideas and elegant implementation, languishing in obscurity because they lack the critical mass to start growing. There are a lot of open source operating systems that are foundationally much better suited to the desktop than Linux, for instance, but no one uses them because they don't have Linux's driver or application library, which is because they don't have enough contributors to catch up, which is because no one uses them...