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Show HN: I've build a platform for writing technical/scientific documents

monsterwriter.com

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Re: Show HN: I've build a platform for writing technical/scientific documents

#2

Post by brudgers »

I appreciate the idea.

But I would advise any and every student against risking their academic work product on a small webservice because the long term economic viability of such services tends to be low.

So the risk of all a student's work disappearing overnight far outweighs the benefits because the tool is not going to cut a five year program into six months. Good luck.

Re: Show HN: I've build a platform for writing technical/scientific documents

#3

Post by spankalee »

brudgers wrote: post #2

I appreciate the idea. But I would advise any and every student against risking their academic work product on a small webservice because the long term economic viability of such services tends to be low. So the risk of all a student's work disappearing overnight far outweighs the benefits because the tool is not going to cut a five year program into six months. Good luck.

This is an argument against any new software for students.

Re: Show HN: I've build a platform for writing technical/scientific documents

#4

Post by dickiedyce »

spankalee wrote: post #3
brudgers wrote: post #2

I appreciate the idea. But I would advise any and every student against risking their academic work product on a small webservice because the long term economic viability of such services tends to be low. So the risk of all a student's work disappearing overnight far outweighs the benefits because the tool is not going to cut a five year program into six months. Good luck.

This is an argument against any new software for students.

No, this is an argument against any new online-only software for students where your work is being stored in a cloud, and not in an open format locally on hard drives.

Re: Show HN: I've build a platform for writing technical/scientific documents

#5

Post by superxpro12 »

dickiedyce wrote: post #4
spankalee wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an argument against any new software for students.

No, this is an argument against any new online-only software for students where your work is being stored in a cloud, and not in an open format locally on hard drives.

Yeah, i mean, any general backup policy for mission-critical work applies here. 3-2-1 rule, etc. Keeping only 1 copy of something, even on the cloud, is a recipe for disaster. Just ask South Korea how that went for them today.

Re: Show HN: I've build a platform for writing technical/scientific documents

#7

Post by yummypaint »

This could be useful for undergrads getting their feet wet with LaTeX and the world of publishing. However, I'm very skeptical that the options are broad enough to conform to the exacting style guidelines typical of PhD theses. Usually people use a template from their school which already formats everything, autogenerates the table of contents, etc.

In fact it isn't clear what this system offers over a LaTeX document started from a template and hosted privately on GitHub. The CI pipeline can even be set up to compile the document for the people who want to be able to do everything in a web browser.

Re: Show HN: I've build a platform for writing technical/scientific documents

#9

Post by murphyslab »

yummypaint wrote: post #7

This could be useful for undergrads getting their feet wet with LaTeX and the world of publishing. However, I'm very skeptical that the options are broad enough to conform to the exacting style guidelines typical of PhD theses. Usually people use a template from their school which already formats everything, autogenerates the table of contents, etc. In fact it isn't clear what this system offers over a LaTeX document…

LaTeX was much easier with Overleaf for my PhD thesis. I still recommend that for friends starting a thesis or a book project. I even used it for recent book project with a friend.

As you noted, one needs a lot of fine tuning to meet publication rules & guidelines. Compared to a local LaTeX editor or Overleaf, this looks too generic to meet the needs I've had in the past. Sure, LaTeX can require a lot of tinkering, but PhD students ought be able to figure it out for themselves, whether through documentation, forums, or asking labmates.

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