4 ms·

This. Please don't create apps that shouldn't be apps.

williamdclt 5y ago
Please do whatever the hell you want. There's a difference between asking a question, making a suggestion and shoving ideals down somebody's throat.
- thatwasunusual 5y ago
  > Please do whatever the hell you want. Indeed. Especially if you want to piss off potensial users/customers. > There's a difference between asking a question, making a suggestion and shoving ideals down somebody's throat. Unfortunately, the "ideal" for many is to have an app for their - well - app, or service, whatever it might be. Usually it's just a perfectly functioning responsive web service that is turned to a native app instead of just going for a hybrid app (at least to start with). In this specific case, there's is _absolutely no reason_ it should be provided as an app, at least not a native one. Because: The user already has everything installed on his phone to use the service; a browser. To me, _as a (potential) user_, having to install this app would have been showing something down my throat. To solve that problem, the developer could have created it as a responsive web application first, and maybe made an hybrid app, and then decided if it is worthwhile creating a native app. Why the desparate need to create native apps and have to maintain two totally different projects when there's no need to?
  - heyoni 5y ago
    Well, it was done in flutter so a web app might be something easy to do from that.
  - williamdclt 5y ago
    All your arguments hold if this was something the developper was trying to grow (commercially or not). Given this is clearly just an app made for their own use and scratch an itch... Taking about pleasing potential users/customers and how you'd have to be forced to install this app is more or less off-topic.
    - thatwasunusual 5y ago
      > Taking about pleasing potential users/customers and how you'd have to be forced to install this app is more or less off-topic. Then why make an app out of something that would work just as well with something I have already installed on my phone?
ARandomerDude 5y ago
But how do you know if it should be an app? It seems like we need a ShouldThisBeAnApp app where you can upload screenshots, descriptions, API diagrams, etc. and allow AI + community input to make the determination.
- GuardianCaveman 5y ago
  No more apps! Only websites!
  - necovek 5y ago
    There should be a ShouldThisBeAnApp website, and a ShouldThisBeAWebsite app :D
    - fileeditview 5y ago
      Make it a ShouldThisBeAMobileAppOrWebAppOrNativeApp service that has a native implementation on all these platforms.
      - kingcharles 5y ago
        What if you don't want an app and you just want to consume an API? I'm thinking a better name would be ShouldThisBeAMobileAppOrWebAppOrNativeAppOrAWebService.
  - Tempest1981 5y ago
    We'll see how this comment ages, in the VR meta future
- thatwasunusual 5y ago
  > But how do you know if it should be an app? In this case it's very easy: if all the functionality can be run in the browser, which already is an app installed on my computer, don't make it an app. At least not a native one.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
pjbeam 5y ago
Don't use apps you think shouldn't be apps? Making normative statements about something OP did for fun and shared with us is a bit odd.
- thatwasunusual 5y ago
  > Don't use apps you think shouldn't be apps? I said: don't _create_ apps that shouldn't be apps.

Please do whatever the hell you want. There's a difference between asking a question, making a suggestion and shoving ideals down somebody's throat.

thatwasunusual 5y ago
> Please do whatever the hell you want. Indeed. Especially if you want to piss off potensial users/customers. > There's a difference between asking a question, making a suggestion and shoving ideals down somebody's throat. Unfortunately, the "ideal" for many is to have an app for their - well - app, or service, whatever it might be. Usually it's just a perfectly functioning responsive web service that is turned to a native app instead of just going for a hybrid app (at least to start with). In this specific case, there's is _absolutely no reason_ it should be provided as an app, at least not a native one. Because: The user already has everything installed on his phone to use the service; a browser. To me, _as a (potential) user_, having to install this app would have been showing something down my throat. To solve that problem, the developer could have created it as a responsive web application first, and maybe made an hybrid app, and then decided if it is worthwhile creating a native app. Why the desparate need to create native apps and have to maintain two totally different projects when there's no need to?
- heyoni 5y ago
  Well, it was done in flutter so a web app might be something easy to do from that.
- williamdclt 5y ago
  All your arguments hold if this was something the developper was trying to grow (commercially or not). Given this is clearly just an app made for their own use and scratch an itch... Taking about pleasing potential users/customers and how you'd have to be forced to install this app is more or less off-topic.
  - thatwasunusual 5y ago
    > Taking about pleasing potential users/customers and how you'd have to be forced to install this app is more or less off-topic. Then why make an app out of something that would work just as well with something I have already installed on my phone?

ARandomerDude 5y ago

But how do you know if it should be an app? It seems like we need a ShouldThisBeAnApp app where you can upload screenshots, descriptions, API diagrams, etc. and allow AI + community input to make the determination.

GuardianCaveman 5y ago
No more apps! Only websites!
- necovek 5y ago
  There should be a ShouldThisBeAnApp website, and a ShouldThisBeAWebsite app :D
  - fileeditview 5y ago
    Make it a ShouldThisBeAMobileAppOrWebAppOrNativeApp service that has a native implementation on all these platforms.
    - kingcharles 5y ago
      What if you don't want an app and you just want to consume an API? I'm thinking a better name would be ShouldThisBeAMobileAppOrWebAppOrNativeAppOrAWebService.
- Tempest1981 5y ago
  We'll see how this comment ages, in the VR meta future
thatwasunusual 5y ago
> But how do you know if it should be an app? In this case it's very easy: if all the functionality can be run in the browser, which already is an app installed on my computer, don't make it an app. At least not a native one.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

pjbeam 5y ago

Don't use apps you think shouldn't be apps? Making normative statements about something OP did for fun and shared with us is a bit odd.

thatwasunusual 5y ago
> Don't use apps you think shouldn't be apps? I said: don't _create_ apps that shouldn't be apps.