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This looks really good, and I hope a number of users sign up and try it out. One issue that you might think about addressing: I imagine a lot of developers (at

This looks really good, and I hope a number of users sign up and try it out. One issue that you might think about addressing: I imagine a lot of developers (at least, the ones on HN) would see this and think "That sounds like a good idea ... but why would I use this service when I could hack something up on my own and use it?" That is, you might want to tell developers why they should use Labradoc and not some home-grown solution. You might use the answer the Dropbox guys used when asked why they were entering a saturated market, and they asked back: How many of those solutions do you actually use?

sixtofour 15y ago
My immediate thought was "Why wouldn't I use Google Docs?"
- follower 15y ago
  That's a reasonable question to ask. There's a number of generic tools you could use for keeping a project log (Google Docs, a blog, wiki, text file) but at the moment the primary reason to use Labradoc is it focused on making project logs easy. Small features like automatic date tracking for entries, a clutter-free interface and simple formatting via Markdown help reduce the overhead of keeping a project log. This in turn helps increase the likelihood you'll keep the log up to date. Which makes the log more useful to you and others. If you do use Google Docs for keeping a project log I'd certainly value feedback on what it provides for you in this instance. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
  - sixtofour 15y ago
    Google docs gives me ubiquitous availability, various file formats (which is a plus or a minus) and not much else. Your response includes good reasons for using your product.
    - follower 15y ago
      Thanks for taking the time to reply again, I hope you'll give Labradoc a try.
follower 15y ago
Thanks Charlie for taking the time to sign up and for your feedback. The question you raise is a good one--I think it's common knowledge around here that targeting HN developers is a good way to make life difficult... :) My current reply: "Sure, you should definitely hack something up on your own but you'll need a project log for the project so you can use Labradoc until you have yours running." Slightly less tongue in cheek: * Use Labradoc for the same reason I use Google App Engine and Django-nonrel to host & develop it: because it's easier and you can focus on what you actually want to be doing. * Longer term I'd like to take the "GitHub for project logs" angle where there's feature & social benefits to having project logs on Labradoc. Thanks again for checking the site out and I hope you find it useful as you switch between your Monotask & PearBudget projects. :)

sixtofour 15y ago

My immediate thought was "Why wouldn't I use Google Docs?"

follower 15y ago
That's a reasonable question to ask. There's a number of generic tools you could use for keeping a project log (Google Docs, a blog, wiki, text file) but at the moment the primary reason to use Labradoc is it focused on making project logs easy. Small features like automatic date tracking for entries, a clutter-free interface and simple formatting via Markdown help reduce the overhead of keeping a project log. This in turn helps increase the likelihood you'll keep the log up to date. Which makes the log more useful to you and others. If you do use Google Docs for keeping a project log I'd certainly value feedback on what it provides for you in this instance. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
- sixtofour 15y ago
  Google docs gives me ubiquitous availability, various file formats (which is a plus or a minus) and not much else. Your response includes good reasons for using your product.
  - follower 15y ago
    Thanks for taking the time to reply again, I hope you'll give Labradoc a try.

follower 15y ago

Thanks Charlie for taking the time to sign up and for your feedback. The question you raise is a good one--I think it's common knowledge around here that targeting HN developers is a good way to make life difficult... :) My current reply: "Sure, you should definitely hack something up on your own but you'll need a project log for the project so you can use Labradoc until you have yours running." Slightly less tongue in cheek: * Use Labradoc for the same reason I use Google App Engine and Django-nonrel to host & develop it: because it's easier and you can focus on what you actually want to be doing. * Longer term I'd like to take the "GitHub for project logs" angle where there's feature & social benefits to having project logs on Labradoc. Thanks again for checking the site out and I hope you find it useful as you switch between your Monotask & PearBudget projects. :)