13 ms·

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 hav

by 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.
    - HeyImAlex 13y ago
      All of the major operating systems depending on your definition of dick is the only one that comes to mind.
vacri 13y ago
If the attitude of the author is "invitation only", then you don't get the luxury of choice if you're not invited - that particular attitude trumps any quality argument. Edit: I'm not really familiar with the particular politics here, but attitude of authors is not a trivial thing. Similarly, the wealth of GPL/BSD/MIT-licensed software that we all benefit from is strongly linked to the attitude of the authors.
na85 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. Disagree. I don't like the way Microsoft does business, and I think Steve Ballmer is an egotistical prick, so I don't buy their products. I don't use Windows on my devices (including phone), I don't use Skype, I don't own an xbox and therefore I don't use xbox live, etc. I'm not interested in the "actual qualities" of Windows Phone or Metro UI because I don't want to support Microsoft with my dollars. Have I made a mistake, pg?
- anologwintermut 13y ago
  Do you use GNU/Linux or OSX? Good luck claim Steve Jobs or RMS isn't a dick.
  - na85 13y ago
    I think Steve Jobs was a prick too. I don't know much at all about RMS, but I will agree that Linus is a jerk. The difference of course is that Linus doesn't head a company that engages in predatory business practices, ships spyware and DRM (malware) in its operating systems, etc. So I can overlook the fact that Linus occasionally says mean things to people over the internet. I don't think Linus has ever thrown a chair across his office when someone wanted to leave Linux. Can't say the same for Ballmer, who has very real personality issues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR-P6HPZgMs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR-P6HPZgMs --- Finally, I know that this comments+karma format encourages extreme pedantry so let me pre-empt you: The fact that I choose not to use Microsoft products because I don't like Microsoft or Ballmer doesn't mean I am required to abstain from ALL products whose authors have engaged in behaviour I don't like. More often than not it's a "lesser of $num evils" situation.
    - jessedhillon 13y ago
      The claim was that you're prone to making mistakes if you judge software by the traits of the authors. How do you know that you haven't made a mistake? Disregarding that, strictly speaking, the onus is on pg to show that you made a mistake (if this were a debate) In general, statements and actions of the authors do seem to be extremely irrelevant components of software quality.
DigitalSea 13y ago
I would like to clarify my comment as some people has misinterpreted what I actually meant. I think Svbtle is great, but at the same time, how is it any different to that of other blog platforms that tout themselves as having a clean interface for writing content? We have Medium, Ghost, Tumblr and even Quora. The competitive edge that Svbtle had was its exclusivity, an edge they've now lost by opening it up. I wasn't attacking Dustin Curtis, I don't know him, I know of him and I have no problem with him whatsoever. I think people are too quick when it comes to interpreting the intent of someone else's words. But that's understandable as gauging intent of words without the voice can be very difficult and easy to misinterpret, especially on the Internet and a site like Hacker News. What I meant by elitist was a blogging platform that only allowed people that Dustin or whoever else hand-picked and determined were good enough to be allowed to use and publish on the Svbtle platform is in my opinion quite an elitist thing to do. "I think you're good enough to use my website" it's like a tech company like Apple choosing who gets to use their products and who doesn't based on how they look or where they live. At the same time, it's Dustin's right to choose who uses Svbtle, it was a unique take on blogging when it made its debut and its his darling. I won't judge him for it, but I standby my choice of words calling his approach an elitist attitude. That's just my opinion, don't hate on me for it. I haven't used Svbtle long enough to form a substantial opinion as I already use Medium and am active on Quora, but what I've seen is quite nice. The interface is great, I've always been a fan of the overall aesthetic of the site from day one. I've got nothing bad to say about it. It's just another blogging platform to me, a well-built one. However, I don't think Svbtle has any competitive edge left to compete with other established players in the competitive blogging platform niche. It's an overdone thing, even Ghost has failed to live up to its own hype as a blogging platform because people are used to the likes of Wordpress and don't want to use something new and unknown. Perhaps if Svbtle were to open source itself like Wordpress they might be able to compete in the space. I believe my comment was mostly fair, I am sorry if I offended anyone, but honesty is the best policy. If I called Dustin Curtis a fat elitist slob then maybe all of the disdain in the comments beneath me would be warranted.
- notwedtm 13y ago
  I feel the exact same way, and did when I first heard of Svbtle. In fact, in some small way, even when I get linked to a post on an Svbtle-hosted blog, I get an off putting feeling just knowing that this was one of those people who was "better" than me, since they were allowed to have a Svbtle blog, and I was not. I often even lost interest in the author's content because of this nagging feeling. Running a beta period to test your theories is one thing, but the entire platform was packaged and advertised as a walled garden for those whom were better than the rest of us. This is what soured it for me. It was even more infuriating because I actually LOVED the features they were previewing.
killwhitey 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. Isn't this what you do for a living?
- sneak 13y ago
  Hahahaha, wow.
  - msutherl 13y ago
    Immortalized: http://x.are.na/FkFuYti/show/194326 http://x.are.na/FkFuYti/show/194326
debt 13y ago
Honestly, they're very similar. Medium feels much more polished. Svbtle has the cool kudos, color picker and brain-dump-title-post-draft maker thing going on. But that's it. Both have the idea of collections or magazines. I feel like Svbtle did wait waaaay to long to open this up. They don't offer anything starkly different from Medium. They should have been monetizing a while ago. Why the wait?
shortformblog 13y ago
I respect the fact that you wrote this response. Maybe Curtis did things to alienate a key audience, but this thread has been full of such hubris.
snotrockets 13y ago
Actually, I take care not to use any quality software, but quality software that isn't written by douchebag(s). This, of course, rules out many great applications, but I the metric ton of smugness I get in return is worth it.

by pg 13y ago

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.
  - HeyImAlex 13y ago
    All of the major operating systems depending on your definition of dick is the only one that comes to mind.

vacri 13y ago

If the attitude of the author is "invitation only", then you don't get the luxury of choice if you're not invited - that particular attitude trumps any quality argument. Edit: I'm not really familiar with the particular politics here, but attitude of authors is not a trivial thing. Similarly, the wealth of GPL/BSD/MIT-licensed software that we all benefit from is strongly linked to the attitude of the authors.

na85 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. Disagree. I don't like the way Microsoft does business, and I think Steve Ballmer is an egotistical prick, so I don't buy their products. I don't use Windows on my devices (including phone), I don't use Skype, I don't own an xbox and therefore I don't use xbox live, etc. I'm not interested in the "actual qualities" of Windows Phone or Metro UI because I don't want to support Microsoft with my dollars. Have I made a mistake, pg?

anologwintermut 13y ago
Do you use GNU/Linux or OSX? Good luck claim Steve Jobs or RMS isn't a dick.
- na85 13y ago
  I think Steve Jobs was a prick too. I don't know much at all about RMS, but I will agree that Linus is a jerk. The difference of course is that Linus doesn't head a company that engages in predatory business practices, ships spyware and DRM (malware) in its operating systems, etc. So I can overlook the fact that Linus occasionally says mean things to people over the internet. I don't think Linus has ever thrown a chair across his office when someone wanted to leave Linux. Can't say the same for Ballmer, who has very real personality issues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR-P6HPZgMs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR-P6HPZgMs --- Finally, I know that this comments+karma format encourages extreme pedantry so let me pre-empt you: The fact that I choose not to use Microsoft products because I don't like Microsoft or Ballmer doesn't mean I am required to abstain from ALL products whose authors have engaged in behaviour I don't like. More often than not it's a "lesser of $num evils" situation.
  - jessedhillon 13y ago
    The claim was that you're prone to making mistakes if you judge software by the traits of the authors. How do you know that you haven't made a mistake? Disregarding that, strictly speaking, the onus is on pg to show that you made a mistake (if this were a debate) In general, statements and actions of the authors do seem to be extremely irrelevant components of software quality.

DigitalSea 13y ago

I would like to clarify my comment as some people has misinterpreted what I actually meant. I think Svbtle is great, but at the same time, how is it any different to that of other blog platforms that tout themselves as having a clean interface for writing content? We have Medium, Ghost, Tumblr and even Quora. The competitive edge that Svbtle had was its exclusivity, an edge they've now lost by opening it up. I wasn't attacking Dustin Curtis, I don't know him, I know of him and I have no problem with him whatsoever. I think people are too quick when it comes to interpreting the intent of someone else's words. But that's understandable as gauging intent of words without the voice can be very difficult and easy to misinterpret, especially on the Internet and a site like Hacker News. What I meant by elitist was a blogging platform that only allowed people that Dustin or whoever else hand-picked and determined were good enough to be allowed to use and publish on the Svbtle platform is in my opinion quite an elitist thing to do. "I think you're good enough to use my website" it's like a tech company like Apple choosing who gets to use their products and who doesn't based on how they look or where they live. At the same time, it's Dustin's right to choose who uses Svbtle, it was a unique take on blogging when it made its debut and its his darling. I won't judge him for it, but I standby my choice of words calling his approach an elitist attitude. That's just my opinion, don't hate on me for it. I haven't used Svbtle long enough to form a substantial opinion as I already use Medium and am active on Quora, but what I've seen is quite nice. The interface is great, I've always been a fan of the overall aesthetic of the site from day one. I've got nothing bad to say about it. It's just another blogging platform to me, a well-built one. However, I don't think Svbtle has any competitive edge left to compete with other established players in the competitive blogging platform niche. It's an overdone thing, even Ghost has failed to live up to its own hype as a blogging platform because people are used to the likes of Wordpress and don't want to use something new and unknown. Perhaps if Svbtle were to open source itself like Wordpress they might be able to compete in the space. I believe my comment was mostly fair, I am sorry if I offended anyone, but honesty is the best policy. If I called Dustin Curtis a fat elitist slob then maybe all of the disdain in the comments beneath me would be warranted.

notwedtm 13y ago
I feel the exact same way, and did when I first heard of Svbtle. In fact, in some small way, even when I get linked to a post on an Svbtle-hosted blog, I get an off putting feeling just knowing that this was one of those people who was "better" than me, since they were allowed to have a Svbtle blog, and I was not. I often even lost interest in the author's content because of this nagging feeling. Running a beta period to test your theories is one thing, but the entire platform was packaged and advertised as a walled garden for those whom were better than the rest of us. This is what soured it for me. It was even more infuriating because I actually LOVED the features they were previewing.

killwhitey 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. Isn't this what you do for a living?

sneak 13y ago
Hahahaha, wow.
- msutherl 13y ago
  Immortalized: http://x.are.na/FkFuYti/show/194326 http://x.are.na/FkFuYti/show/194326

debt 13y ago

Honestly, they're very similar. Medium feels much more polished. Svbtle has the cool kudos, color picker and brain-dump-title-post-draft maker thing going on. But that's it. Both have the idea of collections or magazines. I feel like Svbtle did wait waaaay to long to open this up. They don't offer anything starkly different from Medium. They should have been monetizing a while ago. Why the wait?

shortformblog 13y ago

I respect the fact that you wrote this response. Maybe Curtis did things to alienate a key audience, but this thread has been full of such hubris.

snotrockets 13y ago

Actually, I take care not to use any quality software, but quality software that isn't written by douchebag(s). This, of course, rules out many great applications, but I the metric ton of smugness I get in return is worth it.