4 ms·

This is the "you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or C

This is the "you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem" comment, but about potatoes.

froh 2y ago
I needed to triple check if I was in a time loop, but I guess that's just the he icing on the joke. in that sense: "why not just rcs? much simpler."
Der_Einzige 2y ago
Dropbox really is bad and didn’t deserve to be successful. Its success is more a product of ZIRP than a comment about its utility. Why do we act like this “lore” of HN is something we all have to refer to to prove how “wrong” we were?
- hombre_fatal 2y ago
  Saying that Dropbox is bad is the second coming of the original meme saying it’s trivial. Yall will never learn.
  - Der_Einzige 2y ago
    Self flagelation because we can't imagine any other future. "The way things are is the only way things could have ever been" - you, implicitly. So tired of folks who uncritically think "this is the best way that things could have been". Voltaire literally wrote a whole book called "Candide" which tries to call out this exact thought-cliche.
    - SR2Z 2y ago
      You can't have it both ways. Either Dropbox is trivial and should have been replaced, or it's not and deserves its success.
- throw5959 2y ago
  Dropbox was an excellent useful little app when it first released. It absolutely deserved to be successful. Back then seamless file synchronization was unheard of, and laptops weren't too useful so it was the only reasonable option.
- itishappy 2y ago
  But HN was wrong and Dropbox was quite successful. Their "deservedness" is irrelevant, the fact they actually did the thing is all that matters.
- mattbee 2y ago
  I think people think that comment is wrong because ner-ner Dropbox was in fact a big success, and just because it's _possible_ to do implement something on your boutique computer doesn't mean it won't have value for people who can't do that. [I totally agree if Microsoft had more vision and were competing on an OS that actually worked better for the owner of the computer in 2007, they wouldn't have ceded core parts of the computer's function to some two-bit VC-fuelled bodgers] But to be the comment is wrong because - well - it wasn't and it isn't trivial to run a version control system on top of a network filesystem! Synchronous filesystems over the internet are awful. If the commenter had ever tried this for more than about 2 hours they'd find it hangs on the first network wobble, and probably loses data. Anyhow we're getting off-topic. Do you think French fries deserve their success?
  - Der_Einzige 2y ago
    Given that Trump seems hellbent on taking Canada I'd say that its worth it just for Americans to fix their French fries norms and make them "worth their success".
tptacek 2y ago
We should all do our part to stop perpetuating the meme about that comment, which is pretty unfair. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42392302 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42392302
- matheusmoreira 2y ago
  People really need to stop bringing this up. We've got billionaires mocking this guy. The OpenAI CEO tried to make an example of "haters" out of him. https://zedshaw.com/blog/2018-03-25-the-billionaires-vs-brandonm/ https://zedshaw.com/blog/2018-03-25-the-billionaires-vs-bran... This isn't right, "good sport" or not. It doesn't reflect well on this community.

froh 2y ago

I needed to triple check if I was in a time loop, but I guess that's just the he icing on the joke. in that sense: "why not just rcs? much simpler."

Der_Einzige 2y ago

Dropbox really is bad and didn’t deserve to be successful. Its success is more a product of ZIRP than a comment about its utility. Why do we act like this “lore” of HN is something we all have to refer to to prove how “wrong” we were?

hombre_fatal 2y ago
Saying that Dropbox is bad is the second coming of the original meme saying it’s trivial. Yall will never learn.
- Der_Einzige 2y ago
  Self flagelation because we can't imagine any other future. "The way things are is the only way things could have ever been" - you, implicitly. So tired of folks who uncritically think "this is the best way that things could have been". Voltaire literally wrote a whole book called "Candide" which tries to call out this exact thought-cliche.
  - SR2Z 2y ago
    You can't have it both ways. Either Dropbox is trivial and should have been replaced, or it's not and deserves its success.
throw5959 2y ago
Dropbox was an excellent useful little app when it first released. It absolutely deserved to be successful. Back then seamless file synchronization was unheard of, and laptops weren't too useful so it was the only reasonable option.
itishappy 2y ago
But HN was wrong and Dropbox was quite successful. Their "deservedness" is irrelevant, the fact they actually did the thing is all that matters.
mattbee 2y ago
I think people think that comment is wrong because ner-ner Dropbox was in fact a big success, and just because it's _possible_ to do implement something on your boutique computer doesn't mean it won't have value for people who can't do that. [I totally agree if Microsoft had more vision and were competing on an OS that actually worked better for the owner of the computer in 2007, they wouldn't have ceded core parts of the computer's function to some two-bit VC-fuelled bodgers] But to be the comment is wrong because - well - it wasn't and it isn't trivial to run a version control system on top of a network filesystem! Synchronous filesystems over the internet are awful. If the commenter had ever tried this for more than about 2 hours they'd find it hangs on the first network wobble, and probably loses data. Anyhow we're getting off-topic. Do you think French fries deserve their success?
- Der_Einzige 2y ago
  Given that Trump seems hellbent on taking Canada I'd say that its worth it just for Americans to fix their French fries norms and make them "worth their success".

tptacek 2y ago

We should all do our part to stop perpetuating the meme about that comment, which is pretty unfair. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42392302 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42392302

matheusmoreira 2y ago
People really need to stop bringing this up. We've got billionaires mocking this guy. The OpenAI CEO tried to make an example of "haters" out of him. https://zedshaw.com/blog/2018-03-25-the-billionaires-vs-brandonm/ https://zedshaw.com/blog/2018-03-25-the-billionaires-vs-bran... This isn't right, "good sport" or not. It doesn't reflect well on this community.