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Dustin is a little too late on this one. Medium came along and scooped up whatever chance Svbtle had of becoming accepted by the masses. It should have been ope

Dustin is a little too late on this one. Medium came along and scooped up whatever chance Svbtle had of becoming accepted by the masses. It should have been open from the start, Dustin's elitist attitude got in the way and I think it's only a matter of time before Svbtle dies.

pclark 13y ago
this comment is unreal
- zem 13y ago
  why? i completely lost interest in svbtle when it did the whole "invitation only" thing, and i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one. for a blogging platform, mindshare is reasonably important, and they threw a lot of it away. i'm not sure if medium is relevant, but svbtle's erratic start did hurt it.
  - js2 13y ago
    Because it stinks of haters gonna hate. The personal attack on Dustin is completely uncalled for. It makes me sad that it's the top-voted comment.
    - soup10 13y ago
      I automatically hate people who say "haters gonna hate". Don't be sad, who cares, hn is just a peanut gallery anyway.
      - deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
    - zem 13y ago
      there is a little bit of that, perhaps, but consider: from the OP we have > Until now, we’ve been an exclusive platform open only to approved users. We took this initial approach because we wanted to ensure that the software worked, first of all, and that the platform was seeded with great content by seasoned and experienced authors. but if you remember the original svbtle announcement, that is disingenuous. dustin deliberately tried to build up some sense of exclusivity in the "cachet of belonging to a selective group" rather than in the "starting off small" sense. to me that came across as manipulative and a little sketchy (i always wonder, subconsciously, what is wrong with your product if it has to be sold on the premise that not everyone can get it). to a lot of other people, it came across as elitist (just read some of the other comments here). either way, he took a nice piece of software and gave it an unnecessarily blot, but since that blot was deliberately highlighted you can't blame people here for the conversation choosing to focus on it.
      - js2 13y ago
        Words matter. The original commenter could have said the same thing without the hostility. Consider: "Dustin really hurt Svbtle's chances of becoming a popular platform by originally restricting access. Especially since Medium launched, success for Svbtle will be difficult." But perhaps the point was to attack Dustin, not have a civil conversation. $0.02.
        callum85 13y ago
        I don't think that would be saying the same thing. His point wasn't just that restricted access meant it couldn't become popular, but that it left a bad taste in people's mouths so it might not take off even now. So his acerbic (not hostile) tone was kind of pertinent to what he wanted to say.
        glomph 13y ago
        I think it is an important piece of information that it was the elitism that hurt its chances. Your wording misses that out.
        js2 13y ago
        This (and the sibling comment) make fair points. I still think DigitalSea could have chosen better words such as "the restricted access came across as elitist and left me not wanting to use the service."
    - Timothee 13y ago
      Off-topic but: It makes me sad that it's the top-voted comment Not necessarily. It's also less than an hour old, so that helps to make it raise.
    - yapcguy 13y ago
      Maybe it's because Dustin is a wannabe elitist who thinks he knows better than everyone else. Proof #1 http://dcurt.is/3-point-5-inches http://dcurt.is/3-point-5-inches Proof #2 "Until now, we’ve been an exclusive platform open only to approved users. We took this initial approach because we wanted to ensure that the software worked, first of all, and that the platform was seeded with great content by seasoned and experienced authors."
      - unvs 13y ago
        I have no horse in this race but I'm not sure which part of proof #1 is "wannabe elitist" and "knows better than everyone else"? I used to own an iPhone 4S and switched to a Nexus 5 this christmas, because Android interested me and I wanted a change. I like Android overall much better and the N5 is a great phone, but I still agree with his points about the screen. It IS pretty frustrating trying to reach with one hand. The extra screen real-estate makes it worth it for me, though. Apropos of nothing, I guess..
Touche 13y ago
This is naive. This is an indie side project compared to Medium (started by a billionaire tech darling).
- JumpCrisscross 13y ago
  Is Svbtle competing with Medium? I genuinely thought it was a side project created by a group of friends for their personal use.
  - Touche 13y ago
    Is this comment meant for me or the grandparent who made the comparison?
pg 13y ago
If you pick software based on your opinion of the attitude of the authors, rather than its actual qualities, you're going to make a lot of mistakes. Do you have any opinion about Svbtle itself, incidentally? Have you tried using it? What do you feel are its advantages and disadvantages compared to Medium?
- tomasien 13y ago
  They're pretty different actually. Medium posts feel like posting on Medium, Svtble feels like my blog and my voice. You can't design or monetize it, but that's not my goal when writing - it's about my words. Svtble is all about my words, Medium is all about Medium. I always write on Svtble (because it's better and it's mine) and sometimes post on it later as a Medium post so I can submit to collections. But they are NOT one in the same, not at all.
- chuinard 13y ago
  If I go to a restaurant with amazing food, and I find that the owner is an asshole, it's completely reasonable to not give them my business anymore. How is it any different with software?
  - HeyImAlex 13y ago
    I think it's reasonable, but that doesn't mean it's wise. In software (vs food), the things you choose can impact your bottom line, and if you let your dislike of the authors get in the way of your decisions you could end up hurting yourself. That's not to say you shouldn't weigh the ethical implications of your choices, just that "the creator is a dick" is pretty trivial as far as ethical implications go. But that's not really relevant here. It's a blogging platform among a sea of blogging platforms.
    - pekk 13y ago
      What's a good example of software made by dicks, such that not using it will kill your business? I'm just interested in one example to think about this.
tlogan 13y ago
I don't know Dustin but I know about him only by reading his posts. Given that, I have no reason to believe that he is elitist. "Invitation only" model sometime works and kudos for him for trying that. This was just a way how to make something different in very very crowded space. It did not work, so he is trying "plan B". What is wrong with that? He is just trying to make something and we are here putting him down? Why not some encouragements?

pclark 13y ago

this comment is unreal

zem 13y ago
why? i completely lost interest in svbtle when it did the whole "invitation only" thing, and i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one. for a blogging platform, mindshare is reasonably important, and they threw a lot of it away. i'm not sure if medium is relevant, but svbtle's erratic start did hurt it.
- js2 13y ago
  Because it stinks of haters gonna hate. The personal attack on Dustin is completely uncalled for. It makes me sad that it's the top-voted comment.
  - soup10 13y ago
    I automatically hate people who say "haters gonna hate". Don't be sad, who cares, hn is just a peanut gallery anyway.
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
  - zem 13y ago
    there is a little bit of that, perhaps, but consider: from the OP we have > Until now, we’ve been an exclusive platform open only to approved users. We took this initial approach because we wanted to ensure that the software worked, first of all, and that the platform was seeded with great content by seasoned and experienced authors. but if you remember the original svbtle announcement, that is disingenuous. dustin deliberately tried to build up some sense of exclusivity in the "cachet of belonging to a selective group" rather than in the "starting off small" sense. to me that came across as manipulative and a little sketchy (i always wonder, subconsciously, what is wrong with your product if it has to be sold on the premise that not everyone can get it). to a lot of other people, it came across as elitist (just read some of the other comments here). either way, he took a nice piece of software and gave it an unnecessarily blot, but since that blot was deliberately highlighted you can't blame people here for the conversation choosing to focus on it.
    - js2 13y ago
      Words matter. The original commenter could have said the same thing without the hostility. Consider: "Dustin really hurt Svbtle's chances of becoming a popular platform by originally restricting access. Especially since Medium launched, success for Svbtle will be difficult." But perhaps the point was to attack Dustin, not have a civil conversation. $0.02.
      - callum85 13y ago
        I don't think that would be saying the same thing. His point wasn't just that restricted access meant it couldn't become popular, but that it left a bad taste in people's mouths so it might not take off even now. So his acerbic (not hostile) tone was kind of pertinent to what he wanted to say.
      - glomph 13y ago
        I think it is an important piece of information that it was the elitism that hurt its chances. Your wording misses that out.
        js2 13y ago
        This (and the sibling comment) make fair points. I still think DigitalSea could have chosen better words such as "the restricted access came across as elitist and left me not wanting to use the service."
  - Timothee 13y ago
    Off-topic but: It makes me sad that it's the top-voted comment Not necessarily. It's also less than an hour old, so that helps to make it raise.
  - yapcguy 13y ago
    Maybe it's because Dustin is a wannabe elitist who thinks he knows better than everyone else. Proof #1 http://dcurt.is/3-point-5-inches http://dcurt.is/3-point-5-inches Proof #2 "Until now, we’ve been an exclusive platform open only to approved users. We took this initial approach because we wanted to ensure that the software worked, first of all, and that the platform was seeded with great content by seasoned and experienced authors."
    - unvs 13y ago
      I have no horse in this race but I'm not sure which part of proof #1 is "wannabe elitist" and "knows better than everyone else"? I used to own an iPhone 4S and switched to a Nexus 5 this christmas, because Android interested me and I wanted a change. I like Android overall much better and the N5 is a great phone, but I still agree with his points about the screen. It IS pretty frustrating trying to reach with one hand. The extra screen real-estate makes it worth it for me, though. Apropos of nothing, I guess..

Touche 13y ago

This is naive. This is an indie side project compared to Medium (started by a billionaire tech darling).

JumpCrisscross 13y ago
Is Svbtle competing with Medium? I genuinely thought it was a side project created by a group of friends for their personal use.
- Touche 13y ago
  Is this comment meant for me or the grandparent who made the comparison?

pg 13y ago

If you pick software based on your opinion of the attitude of the authors, rather than its actual qualities, you're going to make a lot of mistakes. Do you have any opinion about Svbtle itself, incidentally? Have you tried using it? What do you feel are its advantages and disadvantages compared to Medium?

tomasien 13y ago
They're pretty different actually. Medium posts feel like posting on Medium, Svtble feels like my blog and my voice. You can't design or monetize it, but that's not my goal when writing - it's about my words. Svtble is all about my words, Medium is all about Medium. I always write on Svtble (because it's better and it's mine) and sometimes post on it later as a Medium post so I can submit to collections. But they are NOT one in the same, not at all.
chuinard 13y ago
If I go to a restaurant with amazing food, and I find that the owner is an asshole, it's completely reasonable to not give them my business anymore. How is it any different with software?
- HeyImAlex 13y ago
  I think it's reasonable, but that doesn't mean it's wise. In software (vs food), the things you choose can impact your bottom line, and if you let your dislike of the authors get in the way of your decisions you could end up hurting yourself. That's not to say you shouldn't weigh the ethical implications of your choices, just that "the creator is a dick" is pretty trivial as far as ethical implications go. But that's not really relevant here. It's a blogging platform among a sea of blogging platforms.
  - pekk 13y ago
    What's a good example of software made by dicks, such that not using it will kill your business? I'm just interested in one example to think about this.

tlogan 13y ago

I don't know Dustin but I know about him only by reading his posts. Given that, I have no reason to believe that he is elitist. "Invitation only" model sometime works and kudos for him for trying that. This was just a way how to make something different in very very crowded space. It did not work, so he is trying "plan B". What is wrong with that? He is just trying to make something and we are here putting him down? Why not some encouragements?