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Ask YC: Opinion of new startup Simplist?

mysimplist.com

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Re: Ask YC: Opinion of new startup Simplist?

#21

Post by lucasoman »

jkent wrote: post #17
lucasoman wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I searched through the many list things out there, and none of them gave me the flexibility I wanted. This is something I wrote for myself, and I decided to make it something everyone can use. Most other list apps are one-dimensional. You have a shopping list and a to-do list. This is a tree that lets you make lists of lists of lists. You can put your entire life into your Simplist and it won't be overwhelming or dif…

Another question would be - why would you want your shopping list inside a to-do list? (www.protopage.com has great to-do list functionality)

I guess that's the real problem here: people assume this is a to-do list. It's a tree that can contain any type of list. Do I need to make that more clear in the docs?

I use it for everything--to-dos, favorites, projects, priorities, packing lists, shopping lists...

Re: Ask YC: Opinion of new startup Simplist?

#22

Post by axod »

lucasoman wrote: post #19
mynameishere wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What percentage of users do you want to turn away automatically? It's not a privacy issue.

Ok, how would you suggest I change it? I would really like to have a valid email address because, as I said above, some site functionality depends on it. Should I allow them to immediately use the Simplist and just disable email-dependent features until it's confirmed?

yes. Only ask for stuff when you really need it.

Re: Ask YC: Opinion of new startup Simplist?

#23

Post by LogicHoleFlaw »

lucasoman wrote: post #16
dualogy wrote: post #15

Notepad + tabbed indenting, anyone? ^^

Tree expanding/collapsing, emailing, Quicklist (like bookmarks), widget, mobile version... No, notepad can't do all that! At least Vim could do folding ;-)

Now if I could only get Vim on my cell phone...

Re: Ask YC: Opinion of new startup Simplist?

#26

Post by dualogy »

lucasoman wrote: post #16
dualogy wrote: post #15

Notepad + tabbed indenting, anyone? ^^

Tree expanding/collapsing, emailing, Quicklist (like bookmarks), widget, mobile version... No, notepad can't do all that! At least Vim could do folding ;-)

"No, notepad can't do all that"

That's why I like it. To each his own I guess. There's nothing like a blank white page that is lacking any UI clutter at all

Folding is already borderline for my tastes ^^

Re: Ask YC: Opinion of new startup Simplist?

#27

Post by alex_c »

lucasoman wrote: post #19
mynameishere wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What percentage of users do you want to turn away automatically? It's not a privacy issue.

Ok, how would you suggest I change it? I would really like to have a valid email address because, as I said above, some site functionality depends on it. Should I allow them to immediately use the Simplist and just disable email-dependent features until it's confirmed?

Or trust them, and let them change their email later (or verify it later), if they decide they can't live without the features that need a valid email.

I've found that the vast majority of users enter a valid email to start with. Those who are really security-conscious might use a one-time email just to register, which won't work later on anyway.

Re: Ask YC: Opinion of new startup Simplist?

#29

Post by allang »

lucasoman wrote: post #7
davidw wrote: post #2

I would put the 'what can you use it for' stuff on the front page, to give people an idea who it's for. ... Also - is this really a startup or just kind of a cool project? With all the other list things out there, how are you going to emerge enough to make money at it?

I searched through the many list things out there, and none of them gave me the flexibility I wanted. This is something I wrote for myself, and I decided to make it something everyone can use. Most other list apps are one-dimensional. You have a shopping list and a to-do list. This is a tree that lets you make lists of lists of lists. You can put your entire life into your Simplist and it won't be overwhelming or dif…

If you're the only person behind simplist, why are you referring to yourself as "we" throughout the site?

Along those same lines, I'm not sure how this qualifies as a start-up as such. It's nifty side project, but it would do you better to present the thing you've created in an honest way.

Re: Ask YC: Opinion of new startup Simplist?

#30

Post by kennon »

lucasoman wrote: post #21
jkent wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another question would be - why would you want your shopping list inside a to-do list? (www.protopage.com has great to-do list functionality)

I guess that's the real problem here: people assume this is a to-do list. It's a tree that can contain any type of list. Do I need to make that more clear in the docs? I use it for everything--to-dos, favorites, projects, priorities, packing lists, shopping lists...

You can make any kind of list with tadalist as well, and the interface is much cleaner. You could argue that yours has more features, but to me, they're just unnecessary clutter. I don't want to have to guess at what your little icons represent when my needs are so uncomplicated. All I want is someplace online where I can put lists of text. I like what you've written, but none of it would compel me to use it over tadalist or other established sites.
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