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This is a bit tangential, but I think there are ways to increase the value of this project. And please, don't take this the wrong way. I'm trying to make a co
by bborud 3y ago
This is a bit tangential, but I think there are ways to increase the value of this project. And please, don't take this the wrong way. I'm trying to make a constructive suggestion (to the maintainers).
Why not present it as a library with a sensible API and a directory of example uses. Including an example of a single binary, minimalistic server that has a very simple, minimal interface allowing you to submit documents and review the results? Or even a command line utility that takes a document as input and spits out the result on stdout or a file?
Imagine how much more immediate the experience would be if you can just fetch a binary and run it on the command line. Or how much easier it would be for people who might want to make use of this in, say, a blogging platform, if you could show them a 10-20 line example of how to make use of this as a library in your own code.
If you provide people with a smooth path for bot adoption and extension, the chance of people engaging positively increases. When I'm presented with this project the core problem this solves gets lost in all the pomp and circumstance involved in running it.
- nenaoki 3y agoLately I'm less convinced everything ought be dolloped out on spoons; having the source available for even just a few willing to delve down into the weeds is already a boon, imho. Not that I would campaign specifically against such improvements, but that I think having raw, uncut gems laying around can be fine.
- nxobject 3y agoI don't think it's tangential at all – tools are meant to be used by people, and thinking about how to make tools low-friction and easy-to-use is intrinsically interesting, regardless or not of whether it's meaningfully actionable :) But only the authors would know what's feasible for them. I can only imagine that working at a legacy newspaper is a resource-strapped place for software engineering.