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Why does this seem so common in niche projects like this one? I often see GitHub repos that seem very interesting and even quite liked but as a newcomer you're

Why does this seem so common in niche projects like this one? I often see GitHub repos that seem very interesting and even quite liked but as a newcomer you're just supposed to figure everything out blindly by yourself. P.S: Thanks for saving me the time to download and try out Pharo.

wslh 3y ago
Yes, it should be called "Onboarding UX" and nowadays , it it fails, make someone forget completely about that piece of software until there is another emotional event such as browsing it in HN and have feedback from a friend.
capableweb 3y ago
Because lots of software released as FOSS is not made to attract people to start using it without spending at least some time reading and understanding it. Lots of FOSS is written that way, especially corporate PR FOSS, where engagement and other things are important, because otherwise the cost/value calculation doesn't work out yadda yadda. But lots of other FOSS is released just because someone wrote something, and then just put it out for others to use, if they're curious. They don't owe you anything, and spending time working on the onboarding UX, tutorials or guides might detract from what they wanted to do: entertain themselves solving a problem they care about.
gjvc 3y ago
P.S: Thanks for saving me the time to download and try out Pharo Unnecessarily snarky
- jdthedisciple 3y ago
  Not meant personally, but sure my apologies.
  - gjvc 3y ago
    Same vibe.
kragen 3y ago
why should people spend their time trying to convince you of the value of their project? they already know if it's valuable; why should they be interested in your opinion? if it's a commercial product, they might get your money, but most projects on github aren't
- igouy 3y ago
  Given the prominent "What is Pharo?" it seems that the developers are spending their time trying to convince others of Pharo's value. And that worked "got curious, downloaded and installed it" but then hit a bug "Lots of things to click on, and no text editor". We can see that they are trying to explore using the knowledge they already have, as we might expect.
- jdthedisciple 3y ago
  I mean sure, I have nothing to say against that. I'd just think if you write something like a programming language of all things you'd want others to use it and have a pleasant experience getting started.
  - noizejoy 3y ago
    > I'd just think if you write something like a programming language of all things you'd want others to use it and have a pleasant experience getting started. You might be surprised how many different nuances exist in what motivates humans. I have even avoided to share code in public repositories, because I didn’t want to be bothered by feedback like yours, because I didn’t bring the documentation up to a level that someone farther away from my little niche need and use case can understand it. While such feedback isn’t going to kill me, it’s nonetheless one of a million tiny little cuts that my life is more pleasant without.
- IshKebab 3y ago
  Because they want other people to use it obviously. Why share it with the world at all if that's not the case?
  - 3y ago

wslh 3y ago

Yes, it should be called "Onboarding UX" and nowadays , it it fails, make someone forget completely about that piece of software until there is another emotional event such as browsing it in HN and have feedback from a friend.

capableweb 3y ago

Because lots of software released as FOSS is not made to attract people to start using it without spending at least some time reading and understanding it. Lots of FOSS is written that way, especially corporate PR FOSS, where engagement and other things are important, because otherwise the cost/value calculation doesn't work out yadda yadda. But lots of other FOSS is released just because someone wrote something, and then just put it out for others to use, if they're curious. They don't owe you anything, and spending time working on the onboarding UX, tutorials or guides might detract from what they wanted to do: entertain themselves solving a problem they care about.

gjvc 3y ago

P.S: Thanks for saving me the time to download and try out Pharo Unnecessarily snarky

jdthedisciple 3y ago
Not meant personally, but sure my apologies.
- gjvc 3y ago
  Same vibe.

kragen 3y ago

why should people spend their time trying to convince you of the value of their project? they already know if it's valuable; why should they be interested in your opinion? if it's a commercial product, they might get your money, but most projects on github aren't

igouy 3y ago
Given the prominent "What is Pharo?" it seems that the developers are spending their time trying to convince others of Pharo's value. And that worked "got curious, downloaded and installed it" but then hit a bug "Lots of things to click on, and no text editor". We can see that they are trying to explore using the knowledge they already have, as we might expect.
jdthedisciple 3y ago
I mean sure, I have nothing to say against that. I'd just think if you write something like a programming language of all things you'd want others to use it and have a pleasant experience getting started.
- noizejoy 3y ago
  > I'd just think if you write something like a programming language of all things you'd want others to use it and have a pleasant experience getting started. You might be surprised how many different nuances exist in what motivates humans. I have even avoided to share code in public repositories, because I didn’t want to be bothered by feedback like yours, because I didn’t bring the documentation up to a level that someone farther away from my little niche need and use case can understand it. While such feedback isn’t going to kill me, it’s nonetheless one of a million tiny little cuts that my life is more pleasant without.
IshKebab 3y ago
Because they want other people to use it obviously. Why share it with the world at all if that's not the case?
- 3y ago