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The omitted context in this comment is that the RoR stack propelled those 2 companies to the level of usage and viability where they needed, and could afford to

by sho 2y ago

The omitted context in this comment is that the RoR stack propelled those 2 companies to the level of usage and viability where they needed, and could afford to hire, SRE engineers. I'm not saying RoR doesn't have its faults, I've left it behind too. But I can't deny its productivity, and even in 2024 I would be hard pressed to name something better for a SAAS company starting out.

SkyPuncher 2y ago
I’ve tried so many stacks on side projects and always come back to RoR (with a bit of a grudge). I dislike many things about Ruby, but RoR is extremely hard to beat. Basically, everything you need in a stack is provided or readily available in the community.
- sho 2y ago
  Yeah. My usual advice to anyone who asks is "Use Rails unless you have a very good reason not to". Those reasons do exist, but they're pretty specific and don't apply 90% of the time. Of course if we're being really real, the first piece of advice should actually be "Can this be Wordpress?"
  - kayodelycaon 2y ago
    > Can this be Wordpress? Yup. I’m a huge fan of rails, but I’m an even larger fan of not writing code in the first place. If a spreadsheet can solve your problem, I’m going to suggest a spreadsheet. If a vendor can solve your problem well enough, I’ll suggest a vendor. My time, energy, and attention is valuable. I’m here for the problems you can’t or shouldn’t outsource.
  - tasuki 2y ago
    Why WordPress? I'll take a simple static website over wordpress anytime. With wordpress: - you are now suddenly also a database administrator - the different people touching the admin interface will break things in subtle ways - welcome an incomprehensible security nightmare into your life Yes, wordpress is extremely easy to set up. Maintain? Nope!
    - sho 2y ago
      In my experience there is absolutely nothing "simple" about a static website, especially one that is going to be used by other people. If it was my personal blog or something, sure. A website for a non-technical friend with a business who wants to be able to post updates, etc? Omg no. No no no no no. Good managed wordpress starts at like $10-20/month. All those problems you mention go away, you can even do things like rollbacks if someone breaks something. If what you want to do fits into what WP can do pretty well, it's a no-brainer.
      - tasuki 2y ago
        > A website for a non-technical friend with a business who wants to be able to post updates, etc? Omg no. No no no no no. I co-organise an event with a non-technical friend. Previously it was using some sort of a custom cms which was hell. I set it up with Jekyll, created a GitHub account for my friend and taught him markdown (five minutes perhaps). Yes he breaks things occasionally. That's fine! Everything is versioned, so I can easily fix things.
        sho 2y ago
        I see your definition of non-technical is a little different from mine...
kqr 2y ago
This is so often the case. "Ugh, with technology X you get such intense growing pains!" ...well, congratulations!
Rapzid 2y ago
Or it was along for the ride. One of those companies was propelled by product market fit, the other by 0% interest and the VC firehose of 2021. When the successful company was founded back in the noughties RoR was arguably miles ahead of everything else. An argument could certainly be made about time-to-market and iteration speed. For the later there were a lot of other viable options available.. > even in 2024 I would be hard pressed to name something better for a SAAS company starting My sense, at least looking at the stacks for tons of recent YC companies, is that most startups are all in on JavaScript these days. Might not actually be better(though I prefer it), but that seems to be the trend.

by sho 2y ago

SkyPuncher 2y ago

I’ve tried so many stacks on side projects and always come back to RoR (with a bit of a grudge). I dislike many things about Ruby, but RoR is extremely hard to beat. Basically, everything you need in a stack is provided or readily available in the community.

sho 2y ago
Yeah. My usual advice to anyone who asks is "Use Rails unless you have a very good reason not to". Those reasons do exist, but they're pretty specific and don't apply 90% of the time. Of course if we're being really real, the first piece of advice should actually be "Can this be Wordpress?"
- kayodelycaon 2y ago
  > Can this be Wordpress? Yup. I’m a huge fan of rails, but I’m an even larger fan of not writing code in the first place. If a spreadsheet can solve your problem, I’m going to suggest a spreadsheet. If a vendor can solve your problem well enough, I’ll suggest a vendor. My time, energy, and attention is valuable. I’m here for the problems you can’t or shouldn’t outsource.
- tasuki 2y ago
  Why WordPress? I'll take a simple static website over wordpress anytime. With wordpress: - you are now suddenly also a database administrator - the different people touching the admin interface will break things in subtle ways - welcome an incomprehensible security nightmare into your life Yes, wordpress is extremely easy to set up. Maintain? Nope!
  - sho 2y ago
    In my experience there is absolutely nothing "simple" about a static website, especially one that is going to be used by other people. If it was my personal blog or something, sure. A website for a non-technical friend with a business who wants to be able to post updates, etc? Omg no. No no no no no. Good managed wordpress starts at like $10-20/month. All those problems you mention go away, you can even do things like rollbacks if someone breaks something. If what you want to do fits into what WP can do pretty well, it's a no-brainer.
    - tasuki 2y ago
      > A website for a non-technical friend with a business who wants to be able to post updates, etc? Omg no. No no no no no. I co-organise an event with a non-technical friend. Previously it was using some sort of a custom cms which was hell. I set it up with Jekyll, created a GitHub account for my friend and taught him markdown (five minutes perhaps). Yes he breaks things occasionally. That's fine! Everything is versioned, so I can easily fix things.
      - sho 2y ago
        I see your definition of non-technical is a little different from mine...

kqr 2y ago

This is so often the case. "Ugh, with technology X you get such intense growing pains!" ...well, congratulations!

Rapzid 2y ago

Or it was along for the ride. One of those companies was propelled by product market fit, the other by 0% interest and the VC firehose of 2021. When the successful company was founded back in the noughties RoR was arguably miles ahead of everything else. An argument could certainly be made about time-to-market and iteration speed. For the later there were a lot of other viable options available.. > even in 2024 I would be hard pressed to name something better for a SAAS company starting My sense, at least looking at the stacks for tons of recent YC companies, is that most startups are all in on JavaScript these days. Might not actually be better(though I prefer it), but that seems to be the trend.