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In certain cases this is easier said than done. If he hands it off he'll need to teach someone else how to run the site, how to deal with each customer, how to.

In certain cases this is easier said than done. If he hands it off he'll need to teach someone else how to run the site, how to deal with each customer, how to... Shutting it down will let him breathe again without having to worry. It's like ripping off the bandaid.

jaggederest 13y ago
I don't buy it. You can give someone the keys and say 'good luck, don't call me', and have a nonzero probability of it succeeding without any further intervention than you'd have to use for shutting it down.
- unreal37 13y ago
  Easy to say when its not yours, I suspect. If he got to this point by thinking he was wasting his life at this thing, why would he consider giving it to someone else to waste their life? And his customers are his friends. It's like giving his friends away to a stranger and saying "don't call me".
  - mistercow 13y ago
    >It's like giving his friends away to a stranger and saying "don't call me". Is that worse than locking your friends out in the cold, tossing them their stuff, and shutting the door?
- dquail 13y ago
  I buy it. It's never that clean.
  - prawn 13y ago
    They're not saying that it's clean, but that it beats throwing something away.
    - dquail 13y ago
      I guess that's my point though. That "throwing it away" makes you completely unencumbered. There's value in that. Anything else comes with strings that make it really hard to move on ... even if that's emotionally.
      - prawn 13y ago
        Then you hand it over, embarrassing warts and all, zero documentation, and walk away. I think we throw away too much. Whatever is wrong with it, this could be a good start for someone without their own project or inspiration.
        ProblemFactory 13y ago
        I can't speak on behalf of the author, but I have been "stuck" in similar limbo projects myself (an iOS game). Admitting to yourself that the project has failed, and "just one more push" can't rescue it, and shutting it down is emotionally difficult enough. Handing it over involves finding a suitable recipient, instructing them, transferring domains and accounts, and making sure the clients understand the ownership has changed. And refusing to answer requests for help or documentation over email can be impossible, especially if you cared about the project or its users. Without this documentation and knowledge, a code repository is of almost no use to anyone. If someone is capable of walking away with zero documentation or help, they would have shut down a limbo project much earlier.
- davorak 13y ago
  I the first cost of your strategy that comes to mind to the current owner is that there is a certain amount of reputation that can be lost if the next person does a bad job.

jaggederest 13y ago

I don't buy it. You can give someone the keys and say 'good luck, don't call me', and have a nonzero probability of it succeeding without any further intervention than you'd have to use for shutting it down.

unreal37 13y ago
Easy to say when its not yours, I suspect. If he got to this point by thinking he was wasting his life at this thing, why would he consider giving it to someone else to waste their life? And his customers are his friends. It's like giving his friends away to a stranger and saying "don't call me".
- mistercow 13y ago
  >It's like giving his friends away to a stranger and saying "don't call me". Is that worse than locking your friends out in the cold, tossing them their stuff, and shutting the door?
dquail 13y ago
I buy it. It's never that clean.
- prawn 13y ago
  They're not saying that it's clean, but that it beats throwing something away.
  - dquail 13y ago
    I guess that's my point though. That "throwing it away" makes you completely unencumbered. There's value in that. Anything else comes with strings that make it really hard to move on ... even if that's emotionally.
    - prawn 13y ago
      Then you hand it over, embarrassing warts and all, zero documentation, and walk away. I think we throw away too much. Whatever is wrong with it, this could be a good start for someone without their own project or inspiration.
      - ProblemFactory 13y ago
        I can't speak on behalf of the author, but I have been "stuck" in similar limbo projects myself (an iOS game). Admitting to yourself that the project has failed, and "just one more push" can't rescue it, and shutting it down is emotionally difficult enough. Handing it over involves finding a suitable recipient, instructing them, transferring domains and accounts, and making sure the clients understand the ownership has changed. And refusing to answer requests for help or documentation over email can be impossible, especially if you cared about the project or its users. Without this documentation and knowledge, a code repository is of almost no use to anyone. If someone is capable of walking away with zero documentation or help, they would have shut down a limbo project much earlier.
davorak 13y ago
I the first cost of your strategy that comes to mind to the current owner is that there is a certain amount of reputation that can be lost if the next person does a bad job.