4 ms·

The text in the badge is/was: 37signals has not yet committed to open conversation about its products and services. Encourage them to join and support the Comp

The text in the badge is/was: 37signals has not yet committed to open conversation about its products and services. Encourage them to join and support the Company-Customer Pact. I really have a hard time believing that this was an oversight. It is at the top of almost every page. When you consider GetSatisfaction's strategy it is even well written.

scott_s 18y ago
I agree. The language was simple and clear. I have difficulty believing language that straight-forward was an accident.
- webwright 18y ago
  They don't mean accident in that they fell on a keyboard and that came out. They mean accident in that someone wrote it as placeholder (or supposed final) copy and it didn't get reviewed/agreed to by the team before it got launched. Clearly some writer was overzealous and the higher-ups didn't get a chance to read it. Happens all the time at small startups.
  - scott_s 18y ago
    That badge is/was on every page for companies that haven't set up an account with them - which I assume is a lot. And according to what other commenters here have said, it's been worded as such since launch. I have a hard time believing that the "higher-ups" hadn't read something as ubiquitous as this on their own site. Also, at a small startup, shouldn't there be very little distance from the writers and the "higher-ups"? In a truly small startup, I would assume the descion-makers are the ones to write the copy.
    - olefoo 18y ago
      > That badge is/was on every page for companies that haven't set up an account with them Yeah, the badge itself is an include in a template, good tools give you great leverage but they amplify your mistakes as much as they magnify your successes. I could see that being a mistake of the "We didn't think through the consequences of what we were saying.", type. OTOH I think 37signals is on the right tack by responding publicly because a private conversation would have had to start with a C&D over the use of their trademark in a manner likely to cause confusion.
    - webwright 18y ago
      Actually, according to the founder of the company (and, more importantly, the Internet Archive), that wording changed with their most recent release.
  - evgen 18y ago
    > Happens all the time at small startups. ORLY? How many layers of management bullshit are there between the decision-makers at Get Satisfaction and the people writing their core message? This is not some random page buried deep within the site, it is top right on most of the pages they are generating. I have a feeling that what they mean by "accident" is that someone with a voice decided to call them on it...
    - tptacek 18y ago
      I agree; also, this seems like the kind of copy that most smart companies would be measuring for conversion.
    - webwright 18y ago
      O Rly. Have you ever worked at a startup? It's not layers of management. It's a mess of people pushing towards similar goals with a LOT less workflow and oversight than a normal company. Everyone at our 5 person startup has the authority to commit copy to the site. I imagine GS is similar (I think they have ~10ish people). Sometimes it's not great copy. Sometimes it's placeholder copy. Sometimes a user will point out a typo in a prominent place on our site that hasn't been touched for a week-- How could we possibly miss that for two weeks!? <gasp> " This is not some random page buried deep within the site, it is top right on most of the pages they are generating." I don't know their QA process, nor do I know the time/date of the commit of this copy change. But I can say that it only shows for companies where the company hasn't "claimed" the forum. So GS folks could've checked their own forum area, and a few customer areas (which were "claimed") and never seen that message. If one employee made the change without discussing it, it'd be very easy to miss. For weeks at a time potentially. I haven't re-read copy on our home page for WEEKS-- for all I know, one of my team changed it.
mechanical_fish 18y ago
What you say is completely true. That said: Accept the groveling apology for what it is. GetSatisfaction has passed the first test of customer support: When the customer gets angry, you must grovel, and vice versa: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=240170 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=240170
- sfg 18y ago
  "GetSatisfaction has passed the first test of customer support", What customer? 37Signals are not a customer, but a victim.
  - mechanical_fish 18y ago
    That's true, but this is the internet. Just because the customer is not visible in this exchange doesn't mean that (s)he is not watching.
donaq 18y ago
Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but could this have possibly been deliberate? The language in the badge seemed quite unambiguous to me. Could they have done this deliberately, waiting for someone big (and somewhat vocal) like, oh, 37signals to notice and speak up, then swiftly make apologies and correct the "accident"? If this is true, then GetSatisfaction has truly played 37signals, HN and possibly many other sites as news gets around, like a flute. A publicity coup of magnificent (if a tad Machiavellian) proportions.

scott_s 18y ago

I agree. The language was simple and clear. I have difficulty believing language that straight-forward was an accident.

webwright 18y ago
They don't mean accident in that they fell on a keyboard and that came out. They mean accident in that someone wrote it as placeholder (or supposed final) copy and it didn't get reviewed/agreed to by the team before it got launched. Clearly some writer was overzealous and the higher-ups didn't get a chance to read it. Happens all the time at small startups.
- scott_s 18y ago
  That badge is/was on every page for companies that haven't set up an account with them - which I assume is a lot. And according to what other commenters here have said, it's been worded as such since launch. I have a hard time believing that the "higher-ups" hadn't read something as ubiquitous as this on their own site. Also, at a small startup, shouldn't there be very little distance from the writers and the "higher-ups"? In a truly small startup, I would assume the descion-makers are the ones to write the copy.
  - olefoo 18y ago
    > That badge is/was on every page for companies that haven't set up an account with them Yeah, the badge itself is an include in a template, good tools give you great leverage but they amplify your mistakes as much as they magnify your successes. I could see that being a mistake of the "We didn't think through the consequences of what we were saying.", type. OTOH I think 37signals is on the right tack by responding publicly because a private conversation would have had to start with a C&D over the use of their trademark in a manner likely to cause confusion.
  - webwright 18y ago
    Actually, according to the founder of the company (and, more importantly, the Internet Archive), that wording changed with their most recent release.
- evgen 18y ago
  > Happens all the time at small startups. ORLY? How many layers of management bullshit are there between the decision-makers at Get Satisfaction and the people writing their core message? This is not some random page buried deep within the site, it is top right on most of the pages they are generating. I have a feeling that what they mean by "accident" is that someone with a voice decided to call them on it...
  - tptacek 18y ago
    I agree; also, this seems like the kind of copy that most smart companies would be measuring for conversion.
  - webwright 18y ago
    O Rly. Have you ever worked at a startup? It's not layers of management. It's a mess of people pushing towards similar goals with a LOT less workflow and oversight than a normal company. Everyone at our 5 person startup has the authority to commit copy to the site. I imagine GS is similar (I think they have ~10ish people). Sometimes it's not great copy. Sometimes it's placeholder copy. Sometimes a user will point out a typo in a prominent place on our site that hasn't been touched for a week-- How could we possibly miss that for two weeks!? <gasp> " This is not some random page buried deep within the site, it is top right on most of the pages they are generating." I don't know their QA process, nor do I know the time/date of the commit of this copy change. But I can say that it only shows for companies where the company hasn't "claimed" the forum. So GS folks could've checked their own forum area, and a few customer areas (which were "claimed") and never seen that message. If one employee made the change without discussing it, it'd be very easy to miss. For weeks at a time potentially. I haven't re-read copy on our home page for WEEKS-- for all I know, one of my team changed it.

mechanical_fish 18y ago

What you say is completely true. That said: Accept the groveling apology for what it is. GetSatisfaction has passed the first test of customer support: When the customer gets angry, you must grovel, and vice versa: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=240170 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=240170

sfg 18y ago
"GetSatisfaction has passed the first test of customer support", What customer? 37Signals are not a customer, but a victim.
- mechanical_fish 18y ago
  That's true, but this is the internet. Just because the customer is not visible in this exchange doesn't mean that (s)he is not watching.

donaq 18y ago

Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but could this have possibly been deliberate? The language in the badge seemed quite unambiguous to me. Could they have done this deliberately, waiting for someone big (and somewhat vocal) like, oh, 37signals to notice and speak up, then swiftly make apologies and correct the "accident"? If this is true, then GetSatisfaction has truly played 37signals, HN and possibly many other sites as news gets around, like a flute. A publicity coup of magnificent (if a tad Machiavellian) proportions.