8 ms·

Show HN: Enkel – A clean and simple RSS Reader

47 points by jam3sn 7y ago

dang 7y ago
Email us at hn@ycombinator.com if you want some tips about how to present this to HN. (Same invitation goes for everybody who wants such tips.) Edit: here's what I sent the users who emailed: If you're sharing your own work and there's a way to try it out, put "Show HN" in the title. Make sure you've read the Show HN guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html. Posts without URLs get penalized, so when you submit, put your site in the URL field and leave the text field blank. Add a comment to the thread giving the backstory of how you came to work on this, and explaining what's different about it. That tends to seed discussion in a good direction. Include a clear statement of what your project is or does. If you don't, the discussion will consist of "I can't tell what this is". Include links to any previous HN threads that are relevant. Readers like those. Drop any language that sounds like marketing or sales. On HN, that is an instant turnoff. Use factual, direct language. Personal stories and technical details are great. For Show HN, the product/project needs to actually exist and there needs to be a way for people to try it out. It can't just be a landing page or market test or fundraiser or a blog post or a curated list or other reading material. Please respect this rule. If we allowed "Show HN" on all those things, nearly every post would be a Show HN. Please make it easy for users to try your thing out, preferably without having to sign up, get a confirmation email, and other such barriers. You'll get more feedback that way, plus HN users get ornery if you make them jump through hoops. If it's hardware or something that's not so easy to try out over the internet, find a different way to show how it actually works—a video, for example, or a detailed post with photos. Don't have your username be that of your company or project. It creates a feeling of using the site for promotion and of not really participating as a person. You don't have to use your real name, just something to indicate that you're here as a human, not a brand. If you'd like to change your username, email hn@ycombinator.com. If you're comfortable doing so, put your email address in your profile so we can contact you if we notice anything, and also so we can send you a repost invite. We do that sometimes. Make sure your friends and users do not add booster comments in the thread. HN users are adept at picking up on those, they consider it spamming, and they will flame you for it. If a friend or a fan has something interesting to say, that's fine, but comments should not be promotional. You can post a new release as a Show HN only if the new version is significantly different. It shouldn't just be an incremental upgrade. If you do repost, add a comment linking to the previous Show HN and explaining what is different from last time. This should probably only happen once or twice a year—more starts to be excessive.
heavymark 7y ago
What does this offer over the competition for instance like Feedly which free tier offers more than this paid tier and whose paid tier offers much more than this paid tier? Clean, modern, dark mode, etc all our standards. So curious why this was created vs the competition?
- jam3sn 7y ago
  So I created Enkel originally to fulfil my own desire for a clean and simple way to consume news. Having tried a few platforms, I found them to be cluttered and distracting. Further more, some placed ads among feeds and offered no methods of reading the article without visiting the source site and being bombarded with ads, popups, video etc. The free tiers were rather limited, bugged you to upgrade and have fallen into the current trend monitizing user data. The intial offering of Enkel is somewhat less than other competitors, which is why it comes at a significantly lower price. However it's in continous development with new features being implemented regularly. Enkel isn't the right tool for everyone, and that's okay. It's intedned for those who want a clean and simple way to consume written media regularly without distraction.
- notokay 7y ago
  I can't even create an account with an email in Feedly. And Inoreader has recently updated design and became unusable: too much bells and whistles. So, there's no more simple and clean rss-readers that I know of.
  - avinassh 7y ago
    > I can't even create an account with an email in Feedly. umm, you can? It isn't obvious from the UI, but you can definitely create one - https://feedly.com/v3/auth/login?newUser=true https://feedly.com/v3/auth/login?newUser=true
- user00012-ab 7y ago
  I also use the free version of https://feedly.com/ https://feedly.com/ . Can't see what this has over that for $2 a month.
- 7y ago
butz 7y ago
Please provide a demo, that should make decision to use (or not use) your software faster.
- SanchoPanda 7y ago
  I second this. You can limit the ability to add new sources to keep from clobbering feeds. While any non static demo is clearly tricky, it is very helpful.
- jam3sn 7y ago
  Good call! I'll defiantly think about implementing this!
kasperni 7y ago
'Enkel' translates to 'simple' in Danish (and some other Nordic languages as well).
- looperhacks 7y ago
  It also translates to grandson in German.
- dmytrish 7y ago
  It also translates to "only/sole/single" from Dutch.
  - hestefisk 7y ago
    In Danish it can mean ‘only/sole/single’ as well. Very strange. Danish has about 1/3 the amount of words that English has.
    - vages 7y ago
      Depends on how you count: https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq-how-many-english-words https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq-how-many-english-wo... Also, there are several everyday situations in which the English language has fewer nuances than the Scandinavian. "Flere/mer" (discrete vs. continuous amounts, "Flere trær" vs. "mer melk") comes to mind. In English, that's just one word: "More trees" and "More milk".
- jam3sn 7y ago
  It sure does! I find naming stuff hard and can't remember exactly how I decided on Enkel, but it meaning 'Simple' in Norwegian was a big part.
dvh 7y ago
Real men write their own rss readers.
treve 7y ago
I would love to know if it's gonna run on my OS! Edit: just realized this is a web app, so the answer is probably yes
- jam3sn 7y ago
  You're not the first person to ask this today, so I defiantly need to clarify this! But yes, a web app, I've added the mobile meta too so you can add it to the app drawer of your mobile device if you so wish :)
lerie1982 7y ago
there is no way to delete your account
- jam3sn 7y ago
  I do need to add this button, I just had other areas of the app that took my attention. In the meantime, drop me an email james@enkel.fyi or use the support form on the site and I'll get your account removed :)
  - lerie1982 7y ago
    Just bringing it to attention
listenallyall 7y ago
Bazqux.com did this, better, about 7 years ago. Zero desire to ever try out an alternative rss client.
mikewarot 7y ago
I was hoping to find something I could use on my PC, only to find it is a service, not an RSS reader.
jlis 7y ago
I really dig the minimal ui and the illustrations you choose :) Also thumbs up for using Laravel (I guess) and Vue.

47 points by jam3sn 7y ago

dang 7y ago

Email us at hn@ycombinator.com if you want some tips about how to present this to HN. (Same invitation goes for everybody who wants such tips.) Edit: here's what I sent the users who emailed: If you're sharing your own work and there's a way to try it out, put "Show HN" in the title. Make sure you've read the Show HN guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html. Posts without URLs get penalized, so when you submit, put your site in the URL field and leave the text field blank. Add a comment to the thread giving the backstory of how you came to work on this, and explaining what's different about it. That tends to seed discussion in a good direction. Include a clear statement of what your project is or does. If you don't, the discussion will consist of "I can't tell what this is". Include links to any previous HN threads that are relevant. Readers like those. Drop any language that sounds like marketing or sales. On HN, that is an instant turnoff. Use factual, direct language. Personal stories and technical details are great. For Show HN, the product/project needs to actually exist and there needs to be a way for people to try it out. It can't just be a landing page or market test or fundraiser or a blog post or a curated list or other reading material. Please respect this rule. If we allowed "Show HN" on all those things, nearly every post would be a Show HN. Please make it easy for users to try your thing out, preferably without having to sign up, get a confirmation email, and other such barriers. You'll get more feedback that way, plus HN users get ornery if you make them jump through hoops. If it's hardware or something that's not so easy to try out over the internet, find a different way to show how it actually works—a video, for example, or a detailed post with photos. Don't have your username be that of your company or project. It creates a feeling of using the site for promotion and of not really participating as a person. You don't have to use your real name, just something to indicate that you're here as a human, not a brand. If you'd like to change your username, email hn@ycombinator.com. If you're comfortable doing so, put your email address in your profile so we can contact you if we notice anything, and also so we can send you a repost invite. We do that sometimes. Make sure your friends and users do not add booster comments in the thread. HN users are adept at picking up on those, they consider it spamming, and they will flame you for it. If a friend or a fan has something interesting to say, that's fine, but comments should not be promotional. You can post a new release as a Show HN only if the new version is significantly different. It shouldn't just be an incremental upgrade. If you do repost, add a comment linking to the previous Show HN and explaining what is different from last time. This should probably only happen once or twice a year—more starts to be excessive.

heavymark 7y ago

What does this offer over the competition for instance like Feedly which free tier offers more than this paid tier and whose paid tier offers much more than this paid tier? Clean, modern, dark mode, etc all our standards. So curious why this was created vs the competition?

jam3sn 7y ago
So I created Enkel originally to fulfil my own desire for a clean and simple way to consume news. Having tried a few platforms, I found them to be cluttered and distracting. Further more, some placed ads among feeds and offered no methods of reading the article without visiting the source site and being bombarded with ads, popups, video etc. The free tiers were rather limited, bugged you to upgrade and have fallen into the current trend monitizing user data. The intial offering of Enkel is somewhat less than other competitors, which is why it comes at a significantly lower price. However it's in continous development with new features being implemented regularly. Enkel isn't the right tool for everyone, and that's okay. It's intedned for those who want a clean and simple way to consume written media regularly without distraction.
notokay 7y ago
I can't even create an account with an email in Feedly. And Inoreader has recently updated design and became unusable: too much bells and whistles. So, there's no more simple and clean rss-readers that I know of.
- avinassh 7y ago
  > I can't even create an account with an email in Feedly. umm, you can? It isn't obvious from the UI, but you can definitely create one - https://feedly.com/v3/auth/login?newUser=true https://feedly.com/v3/auth/login?newUser=true
user00012-ab 7y ago
I also use the free version of https://feedly.com/ https://feedly.com/ . Can't see what this has over that for $2 a month.
7y ago

butz 7y ago

Please provide a demo, that should make decision to use (or not use) your software faster.

SanchoPanda 7y ago
I second this. You can limit the ability to add new sources to keep from clobbering feeds. While any non static demo is clearly tricky, it is very helpful.
jam3sn 7y ago
Good call! I'll defiantly think about implementing this!

kasperni 7y ago

'Enkel' translates to 'simple' in Danish (and some other Nordic languages as well).

looperhacks 7y ago
It also translates to grandson in German.
dmytrish 7y ago
It also translates to "only/sole/single" from Dutch.
- hestefisk 7y ago
  In Danish it can mean ‘only/sole/single’ as well. Very strange. Danish has about 1/3 the amount of words that English has.
  - vages 7y ago
    Depends on how you count: https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq-how-many-english-words https://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq-how-many-english-wo... Also, there are several everyday situations in which the English language has fewer nuances than the Scandinavian. "Flere/mer" (discrete vs. continuous amounts, "Flere trær" vs. "mer melk") comes to mind. In English, that's just one word: "More trees" and "More milk".
jam3sn 7y ago
It sure does! I find naming stuff hard and can't remember exactly how I decided on Enkel, but it meaning 'Simple' in Norwegian was a big part.

dvh 7y ago

Real men write their own rss readers.

treve 7y ago

I would love to know if it's gonna run on my OS! Edit: just realized this is a web app, so the answer is probably yes

jam3sn 7y ago
You're not the first person to ask this today, so I defiantly need to clarify this! But yes, a web app, I've added the mobile meta too so you can add it to the app drawer of your mobile device if you so wish :)

lerie1982 7y ago

there is no way to delete your account

jam3sn 7y ago
I do need to add this button, I just had other areas of the app that took my attention. In the meantime, drop me an email james@enkel.fyi or use the support form on the site and I'll get your account removed :)
- lerie1982 7y ago
  Just bringing it to attention

listenallyall 7y ago

Bazqux.com did this, better, about 7 years ago. Zero desire to ever try out an alternative rss client.

mikewarot 7y ago

I was hoping to find something I could use on my PC, only to find it is a service, not an RSS reader.

jlis 7y ago

I really dig the minimal ui and the illustrations you choose :) Also thumbs up for using Laravel (I guess) and Vue.