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This is yet another example of why all startups should have a responsible sunset pledge[1]. The pledge should contain something along the lines of, "If we shut

by ggreer 13y ago

This is yet another example of why all startups should have a responsible sunset pledge[1]. The pledge should contain something along the lines of, "If we shut down, we will make it possible to run an instance of our product." That means open-sourcing server code, writing some minimal docs, and probably building some data export APIs. I had the idea before starting Floobits (YC S13 yadda yadda), and of course, we've made a pledge: https://floobits.com/pledge https://floobits.com/pledge This helps the company as well as customers. People are more likely to adopt your product when they know you'll give them the source code if your company dies. It's helped in subtle ways that I didn't predict. For example: If I ever think of taking shortcuts or building embarrassingly bad software, I remember that the public will likely see this code one day. If you run a company, consider making a responsible sunset pledge. If you use a SaaS tool, consider asking that company to make one. 1. http://geoff.greer.fm/2012/09/19/a-responsible-product-sunset-pledge/ http://geoff.greer.fm/2012/09/19/a-responsible-product-sunse...

deleted 13y ago
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fancy_betta 13y ago
Cover didn't really have customers - their app was "beta" and was free. I don't know that they had any servers or anything is stored online, you don't create an account to use the app. The type of pledge you're advocating wouldn't really make a difference for this app, but I can see where it could be useful in other cases.
nl 13y ago
This is yet another example of why all startups should have a responsible sunset pledge Why, exactly? This probably won't be a popular view on HN, but I think a lot of people complain about companies shutting things down for the sake of complaining. Cover was a free, beta application with a very limited number of users. There was no personal data saved by it and no future plans announced. For those users Cover will continue to work today like it did yesterday. And yet the top voted comment is complaining about it being shutdown. Pfft! In general, customers want a supported product (eg, the endless complaints about every single startup bought by a larger company, even when they completely open source their product). In most cases a pledge like this puts extra restrictions on what a startup can do. I'm not saying screw over your customers if you get bought, but making a pledge is completely different to building some kind of data export facility if it ends up being needed. Why take on challenges that you don't need? In some cases (typically enterprise focused) some kind of business continuity plan is absolutely appropriate. In many consumer-focused app start ups? Not so much.
- funkyy 13y ago
  Exactly. The thing is that they offered FREE service. They made no money from it (at least that's how this appears). They didn't shut down the app, they didn't just close the whole thing. They gave users fair few months to move to another service. Even if it sucks that such quality app/startup will be probably gone soon, its still much better than just shut things and run.
desipenguin 13y ago
exporting user's data is absolutely the right thing to do. About open sourcing the code : If the acquiring company sees the "existing" product as IP even if they do not see the product/service making (enough?) money - they may consider the "code" as IP. In such case - the acquired company may not be "legally" allowed to make the code open source.

by ggreer 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

fancy_betta 13y ago

Cover didn't really have customers - their app was "beta" and was free. I don't know that they had any servers or anything is stored online, you don't create an account to use the app. The type of pledge you're advocating wouldn't really make a difference for this app, but I can see where it could be useful in other cases.

nl 13y ago

This is yet another example of why all startups should have a responsible sunset pledge Why, exactly? This probably won't be a popular view on HN, but I think a lot of people complain about companies shutting things down for the sake of complaining. Cover was a free, beta application with a very limited number of users. There was no personal data saved by it and no future plans announced. For those users Cover will continue to work today like it did yesterday. And yet the top voted comment is complaining about it being shutdown. Pfft! In general, customers want a supported product (eg, the endless complaints about every single startup bought by a larger company, even when they completely open source their product). In most cases a pledge like this puts extra restrictions on what a startup can do. I'm not saying screw over your customers if you get bought, but making a pledge is completely different to building some kind of data export facility if it ends up being needed. Why take on challenges that you don't need? In some cases (typically enterprise focused) some kind of business continuity plan is absolutely appropriate. In many consumer-focused app start ups? Not so much.

funkyy 13y ago
Exactly. The thing is that they offered FREE service. They made no money from it (at least that's how this appears). They didn't shut down the app, they didn't just close the whole thing. They gave users fair few months to move to another service. Even if it sucks that such quality app/startup will be probably gone soon, its still much better than just shut things and run.

desipenguin 13y ago

exporting user's data is absolutely the right thing to do. About open sourcing the code : If the acquiring company sees the "existing" product as IP even if they do not see the product/service making (enough?) money - they may consider the "code" as IP. In such case - the acquired company may not be "legally" allowed to make the code open source.