3 ms·

> Need to have someone professional check the copy out. Professional author here. It's a major, eye-rolling turn-off to see the grammar and punctuation errors,

by jawns 5y ago

> Need to have someone professional check the copy out. Professional author here. It's a major, eye-rolling turn-off to see the grammar and punctuation errors, and to be honest, the breezy response is also a turn-off and screams amateurish effort. If you are posting this on HN, accepting users, and (presumably) taking payments, then you have already publicly launched, and you should have done this already. I understand that it's a side project, but if you want to have people take your business seriously -- and a business marketing to writers, of all people -- then you've got to make sure your homepage copy is beyond reproach.

aswinmohanme 5y ago
Yes, I was so focused on the tech side, I forgot about who the core audience was and how much they of all people cares about language. I'm fixing the copy and I will get someone experienced on it.
hardwaresofton 5y ago
I'm not a "legacy" HN user or anything but > If you are posting this on HN, accepting users, and (presumably) taking payments, then you have already publicly launched, and you should have done this already. This seems like an overly stringent requirement for Show HNs. The guidelines say no such thing[0], and in fact they say the opposite: > A Show HN needn't be complicated or look slick. The community is comfortable with work that's at an early stage. I thought what drew people to HN in part was the ability to see fun and possibly unfinished/amateur but interesting and thought provoking content. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html
- jawns 5y ago
  I agree that merely posting on HN doesn't constitute a public launch. But what about meeting all three of the conditions I laid out in the sentence you quoted: (1) marketing the site to the public, (2) accepting users, and (3) taking payments. Arguably, at that point, you have veered out of hobby project territory and have publicly launched a business -- and that's where my criticism lies.
  - hardwaresofton 5y ago
    A bit late but I do agree with that sentiment, (3) in particular. Taking payments is certainly a threshold

by jawns 5y ago

aswinmohanme 5y ago

Yes, I was so focused on the tech side, I forgot about who the core audience was and how much they of all people cares about language. I'm fixing the copy and I will get someone experienced on it.

hardwaresofton 5y ago

I'm not a "legacy" HN user or anything but > If you are posting this on HN, accepting users, and (presumably) taking payments, then you have already publicly launched, and you should have done this already. This seems like an overly stringent requirement for Show HNs. The guidelines say no such thing[0], and in fact they say the opposite: > A Show HN needn't be complicated or look slick. The community is comfortable with work that's at an early stage. I thought what drew people to HN in part was the ability to see fun and possibly unfinished/amateur but interesting and thought provoking content. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html

jawns 5y ago
I agree that merely posting on HN doesn't constitute a public launch. But what about meeting all three of the conditions I laid out in the sentence you quoted: (1) marketing the site to the public, (2) accepting users, and (3) taking payments. Arguably, at that point, you have veered out of hobby project territory and have publicly launched a business -- and that's where my criticism lies.
- hardwaresofton 5y ago
  A bit late but I do agree with that sentiment, (3) in particular. Taking payments is certainly a threshold