3 ms·

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011. It became totally unusable in 2016, about five years after. It's too early to draw conclusions on GitHub.

WorldMaker 6y ago
Microsoft acquired Forethought, LLC in 1987. PowerPoint is still among the most used applications in the world. Plenty of counter-anecdotes to choose from too, if you want to try to draw conclusions.
- danaris 6y ago
  Microsoft of 1987 and Microsoft of 2011 are so different, you might as well not even consider them the same company. There's also the part where Discord is very very similar in nature to Skype, as a product, and not similar at all to PowerPoint.
  - WorldMaker 6y ago
    You are also assuming that A) Microsoft cannot learn from past mistakes, and B) the blame for Skype falls squarely on Microsoft's shoulders. Discord is currently at the top of its game (more like PowerPoint was), whereas Skype was suffering from mismanagement under eBay. Microsoft was supposedly hands off on Skype in the first few years post-acquisition and most of the mistakes that killed Skype were some combination of projects already started under eBay management or still all planned "inside the house" at Skype. (Microsoft in 1987 was said to be hands off with PowerPoint for the first few years following acquisition so as not to interfere with the creative efforts already in progress. Microsoft in 2021 is supposedly still remaining pretty hands off in GitHub management, other than replacing the outgoing CEO.) Microsoft's MO seems to be to give acquisitions enough rope to either succeed or hang themselves, and Skype sounds like they took that second option.
    - danaris 6y ago
      No, I'm reserving judgement. I hope Microsoft won't ruin Discord, not least because I use it fairly heavily and I don't want to have to switch (again). I'm just noting that at least from the outside, the Skype case looks much more relevant to this situation than the PowerPoint one.

WorldMaker 6y ago

Microsoft acquired Forethought, LLC in 1987. PowerPoint is still among the most used applications in the world. Plenty of counter-anecdotes to choose from too, if you want to try to draw conclusions.

danaris 6y ago
Microsoft of 1987 and Microsoft of 2011 are so different, you might as well not even consider them the same company. There's also the part where Discord is very very similar in nature to Skype, as a product, and not similar at all to PowerPoint.
- WorldMaker 6y ago
  You are also assuming that A) Microsoft cannot learn from past mistakes, and B) the blame for Skype falls squarely on Microsoft's shoulders. Discord is currently at the top of its game (more like PowerPoint was), whereas Skype was suffering from mismanagement under eBay. Microsoft was supposedly hands off on Skype in the first few years post-acquisition and most of the mistakes that killed Skype were some combination of projects already started under eBay management or still all planned "inside the house" at Skype. (Microsoft in 1987 was said to be hands off with PowerPoint for the first few years following acquisition so as not to interfere with the creative efforts already in progress. Microsoft in 2021 is supposedly still remaining pretty hands off in GitHub management, other than replacing the outgoing CEO.) Microsoft's MO seems to be to give acquisitions enough rope to either succeed or hang themselves, and Skype sounds like they took that second option.
  - danaris 6y ago
    No, I'm reserving judgement. I hope Microsoft won't ruin Discord, not least because I use it fairly heavily and I don't want to have to switch (again). I'm just noting that at least from the outside, the Skype case looks much more relevant to this situation than the PowerPoint one.