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The problem (currently) is that most people simply don't care about being forced to use a particular client - as long as that client looks nice. I say this wit

The problem (currently) is that most people simply don't care about being forced to use a particular client - as long as that client looks nice. I say this with a lot of love for the idea. My company sells a collaborative knowledge base that supports Bringing Your Own Client. Out of the hundreds of users I have spoken to, only ONE has ever asked me if they could use their favorite markdown editor to access their knowledge base. On the positive side of things, having the capability to bring your own client makes it really easy for us to support many different use cases. We just have to write those clients ourselves.

Cthulhu_ 6y ago
I think it makes sense to at least have the mindset from a developer's point of view. It helps prevent lock-in between the client and whatever APIs or storage your product uses. I've tried to build apps with a strict client / server separation for a decade now, it made sense at the time because of mobile apps, and it makes sense now due to application half-life (front-ends don't last as long as their back-ends). In my current project we may offer API access to our customers in addition to a user interface.
- zomglings 6y ago
  Agreed - with the understanding that maintaining distinct clients is a LOT of work.
thomastjeffery 6y ago
Most people just aren't familiar enough with the underlying idea. You can't express or even recognize a desire for your own client if you don't know what a client is. Because businesses focus on meeting users' desires instead of needs, they are content with the status quo of rigid UI/UX design. This is why we see BYOC so prevalent in developer tools like text editors and terminal emulators, but not in office tools like Google Docs or art/design tools like Photoshop and Maya. I've heard a million times or more the phrase, "industry standard" used to defend rigid proprietary tooling, even by users who would benefit from want sincerely enjoy more freedom in their tooling.

Cthulhu_ 6y ago

I think it makes sense to at least have the mindset from a developer's point of view. It helps prevent lock-in between the client and whatever APIs or storage your product uses. I've tried to build apps with a strict client / server separation for a decade now, it made sense at the time because of mobile apps, and it makes sense now due to application half-life (front-ends don't last as long as their back-ends). In my current project we may offer API access to our customers in addition to a user interface.

zomglings 6y ago
Agreed - with the understanding that maintaining distinct clients is a LOT of work.

thomastjeffery 6y ago

Most people just aren't familiar enough with the underlying idea. You can't express or even recognize a desire for your own client if you don't know what a client is. Because businesses focus on meeting users' desires instead of needs, they are content with the status quo of rigid UI/UX design. This is why we see BYOC so prevalent in developer tools like text editors and terminal emulators, but not in office tools like Google Docs or art/design tools like Photoshop and Maya. I've heard a million times or more the phrase, "industry standard" used to defend rigid proprietary tooling, even by users who would benefit from want sincerely enjoy more freedom in their tooling.