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Are you suggesting a project like this isn't worthwhile unless it cater to "all" mobile devices as well as "people who don't own mobile devices?" This is the p

by sequoia 13y ago

Are you suggesting a project like this isn't worthwhile unless it cater to "all" mobile devices as well as "people who don't own mobile devices?" This is the perfect as the enemy of the good in spades. Honestly tho, by your standard, 100% of websites and apps are problematically inaccessible, because they don't cater to people with no net access & no phone. Demanding 100% coverage before a tool can be praised is silly. Incidentally, is there any reason you're not filling in the gap here with... what, a mobile site & printed handbills, distributed throughout the city on a regular basis (if even that would meet your desire for accessibility)? :)

johnbender 13y ago
Why is it so hard to imagine building this with web technologies. The app is simple enough and then many more platforms would be supported by default My argument is that there simply isn't any reason to make this a native app and by doing so they are limiting their reach.
- shiven 13y ago
  Well, then do it. This is HN, creating software to fulfill a need is what (almost) everyone here does / has done. Hence, your argument is not carrying much weight and getting so much pushback. The crowd here expects a "Show HN", more than a "Waanh HN". ;-)
- sequoia 13y ago
  I hear your argument & it's valid but it's important to not wholly discount image & marketing when choosing a solution, as they also affect how widely used a product is, for better or worse. Apps are "cooler," some people will be more inclined to use it as an app. Again, this isn't a really meaningful reason but it's a real factor and bears consideration. I'm not sure if bookmarking to homescreen is a common workflow for many people. My point is that there's a trade off (I tend to suspect people would use a mobile site less; you have to find it each time etc.) and if you determine that product X would be less accessible, but used by more people, if you implement it using technology Y, it's not unreasonable to accept that compromise. Lest I come of as a grumpy gus that doesn't care about accessibility, I'll link to this PR https://github.com/tastejs/todomvc/pull/37 https://github.com/tastejs/todomvc/pull/37 which hopefully illustrates that I do care about accessibility, I just recognize that there are other factors when choosing a solution as well and not all will be perfectly accessible, for better or worse.

by sequoia 13y ago

johnbender 13y ago

Why is it so hard to imagine building this with web technologies. The app is simple enough and then many more platforms would be supported by default My argument is that there simply isn't any reason to make this a native app and by doing so they are limiting their reach.

shiven 13y ago
Well, then do it. This is HN, creating software to fulfill a need is what (almost) everyone here does / has done. Hence, your argument is not carrying much weight and getting so much pushback. The crowd here expects a "Show HN", more than a "Waanh HN". ;-)
sequoia 13y ago
I hear your argument & it's valid but it's important to not wholly discount image & marketing when choosing a solution, as they also affect how widely used a product is, for better or worse. Apps are "cooler," some people will be more inclined to use it as an app. Again, this isn't a really meaningful reason but it's a real factor and bears consideration. I'm not sure if bookmarking to homescreen is a common workflow for many people. My point is that there's a trade off (I tend to suspect people would use a mobile site less; you have to find it each time etc.) and if you determine that product X would be less accessible, but used by more people, if you implement it using technology Y, it's not unreasonable to accept that compromise. Lest I come of as a grumpy gus that doesn't care about accessibility, I'll link to this PR https://github.com/tastejs/todomvc/pull/37 https://github.com/tastejs/todomvc/pull/37 which hopefully illustrates that I do care about accessibility, I just recognize that there are other factors when choosing a solution as well and not all will be perfectly accessible, for better or worse.