In a child comment you refer to this as "a game physics 'Hello World'."
But that's what it is. Would you be impressed if I posted a rails CRUD app?
So condescending, dismissive, and of course the top voted comment :/
I'm sorry you think that. I don't mean to be critical of the developer in any way. I was merely remarking that from my perspective, just being on the web isn't enough to be novel or interesting.
I completely get what you’re saying - but this is not an /amateur/ release? Clearly the author cares a lot about design, has put together a blog and repo, launched the theme for obsidian and iterm, etc
Edit: Not sure why you’re framing this thread by different HNers as an attack somehow and your last statement feels judgmental.
>..and instead of commenting on the project, you complain that it doesn't have the libraries you need for your job.
>Brilliant!
Aaai I guess the my tone got lost via the internet :/
That is why I made sure to compliment the author/project twice in the beginning and in the end.
1)>>Very cool... and congrats.... I know its still early...,
2)>> Again congratulations on getting this far, been keeping an eye on it every now and again.
I am assuming, at some point the authors would want their project to be used by some people ? If I were one of those people, the above is what I would need.
I guess the internet and my 2nd-lang-english, might have made me came out "rude" ? But I assure you it was really just "positive-feedback" and my honest opinion !
YMMY
> It's just baseless criticism of a cool new project someone was brave enough to build and put out there
I'm not trying to criticize the project itself - I think that a 1KLOC C font rendering library is cool. (I'm not sure if it counts, but I also upvoted & starred the repo as well.)
I was criticizing a bit about the 'suckless' philosophy which aims 'simple' software, as I've seen a lot of them recently. (Hence the off topic mention.) I wasn't trying to be harsh or anything - I had good intentions when I was writing the comment. (Maybe my not-good English skills might contribute to the harsh feeling :-()
I personally find that not allowing any criticism just because it's 'free software' and is provided 'as-is' isn't really productive - why would HN exist then? To fill up with praise and applause?
>Why is that we praise hand-crafted objects in the real world while at the same time deriding such hand-crafted code [...] In the real world, both craft workshops and assembly lines have their place. Maybe that should be true for the digital world as well.
I'm not sure what the complaint is here. The concept of "hand-crafted software" _is_ being praised. Consider:
+ the domain url exists : https://handmade.network/ ... this means some enthusiasts spent money to host a focal point for showcasing the work to others
+ the submission is currently on the frontpage of HN ... which means it was upvoted many times (more than 50+ as of this writing)
+ comments in this thread showing appreciation of it
Are you annoyed that there isn't universal absolute flattery because a few want to mention caveats of tradeoffs? Well, that's true of any piece of technology/method.
The people who publish easy stuff are typically new developers/entrepreneurs, simply people with less practice. There aren't all that many amazing, experienced developers with deep toolkits and skills. Better to commend people for trying and critique their work for what it is, than bemoan the lack of depth.
This sort of comment slings mud at the efforts of the young and inexperienced, when we should be trying to form a welcoming community that helps them grow. Our duty is to be supportive and help comb through the chafe to help find the diamond tech, content, and comments. That's the point of being here.
However, what I see in that thread are valid criticisms. The article and author were self promoting the author's expertise in UX -- with the promotion rather more prominent than the article content. Meanwhile, aside from the, um, "self aggrandizement", the site violated cardinal UX rules.
Readers called him on it without using faux polite weasel words, and he says he'll fix it.
Pretty sure constructive feedback is what submitting your own material to HN is for.
This is one of the most badly behaved comment sections I've seen on HN.
As at least some seem to exhibit, it is possible to criticise creativity without high-school level bullying.
Sometimes people read things like I've seen written here and get hit harder than anyone expects. If you've been close to the worst aftermath of such things you might think twice about who's reading what you wrote, and its impact.
Personally, what I didn't like about the article was the lack of photos of the final product - it looks really interesting, and I want to see more of it.
I hope the author, who seems based on username to likely also to be the OP, has a thicker skin than those here seeking to bruise it seem to think. They've no right to - and them assuming they do is the worst kind of entitlement.
Well said. I also hate when someone shows something on HN and everyone just replies with links to another similar project...the author almost never says they are trying to beat some other project or one-up anyone!
I agree the author should be applauded. That said, trying to please everybody on HN is impossible.
It would be more useful if these comments explained why they think things are important, so the OP can assess the importance of feedback within the context of their own site. Too many of the comments assume all websites should be built in the same way, and criticise anything that isn’t.
You know, people who make these projects read HN. It really hurts to read someone slam your work, even when (or perhaps particularly when) it's a hobby.
Rather than just an echo chamber of praise? It's good to see multiple points of view and criticism. There's always a place for improvement, and he's right, the codebase doesn't seem particularly ruby-ish.
I've never minded harsh HN criticism b/c it's good at exposing design/develop weaknesses, but picking on presentation style while completely ignoring the technical aspects of the article is just bikeshedding. We all know he's a Dev Advocate. If you might have some great criticism on js/Dart, that would be very helpful. He could be wrong, so chime in.
> It's especially odd from a community that places so much emphasis on the importance of a good pitch.
A good pitch? Why does that even matter? 97% of these projects are for fun/as a learning exercise. If someone is interested those things, then they can check it out. If they aren't, then I guess the author misses out on a few GitHub stars. shrug
"This is stupid. Yeah probably, but for its very specific use case it's not terribly bad."
Don't put your work down like this. You created something useful for yourself, and likely useful for others. I'd be surprised if someone called it stupid.
> The implication that I'm building stuff "just because" isn't appreciated.
It seems this came across not the way I intended; I apologize - I meant that very positively, as a set of possible motivations related to the code/project, problem domain, and/or author themselves, as opposed to product thinking. Like, e.g. making for fun, as part of learning, or because it's useful to author - where other users are at best a secondary concern.
Instead, I found that he wrote from what I can tell the only book that introduces RubyMotion, published by PragProg, and endorsed by other authors.
His blog post shows humility, an ability to praise the work of others, and an effort to add value to the world.
All things that these HN comments distinctly lack and, ultimately, punish.
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