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I bootstrapped my private-journaling project into a lifestyle business

indiehackers.com

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Re: I bootstrapped my private-journaling project into a lifestyle business

#51

Post by MichaelApproved »

randlet wrote: post #25
MichaelApproved wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, nobody can offer criticism unless they are producing better results? How many NBA coaches can dunk hit a 3-pointer? Yet, the players still listen to their advice and perform better. Just because someone can't do it themselves doesn't mean they can't offer meaningful insight.

Speaking as someone who is trying to bootstrap a product, constructive criticism is worth its weight in gold. OP's statement was critical, and included no valuable feedback which is why it's being downvoted. "How many NBA coaches can dunk or defend? Yet, the players still listen to their advice and perform better. Just because someone can't do it themselves doesn't mean they can't offer meaningful insight. " This is…

I get what you're saying but I'm referring to this comment: "what's your mrr?"

Not only does it not provide any meaningful insight, it attempts to shut down the discussion of anyone who doesn't have Monthly Recurring Revenue. As if that's a qualifier to providing feedback.

Re: I bootstrapped my private-journaling project into a lifestyle business

#52

Post by tracker1 »

komali2 wrote: post #36
rtkwe wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I disabled one of the core technologies of the modern web and it breaks things."

I get your point in general regarding the internet, but I'm not clear at all on how Javascript would be required for any of the tasks in this website. 1. Show text content 2. Make the text content look good 3. Allow submission to a comment section All of those things can be accomplished with some or none javascript. Why make the job harder than necessary? Why screw over screenreaders? Oh, I see there's a graph there,…

I'd definitely make the main blog content display without JS... I don't think I'd do that for comments, in fact, been thinking of making something that only supports browsers with web crypto to do a pbkdf2 challenge in order to submit a comment. From there, would add a few more other pieces to sign said submission including the challenge. Although it would eliminate old browsers (and non-chrome edge), it would probably still be better than most captcha solutions.

Re: I bootstrapped my private-journaling project into a lifestyle business

#53

Post by komali2 »

dymk wrote: post #46
paulryanrogers wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need for the patronizing tone. Some block JS for the same reason others block ads: security and faster load times. Is it really too much to ask for a single tag on the home page explaining what the service is and why JS is necessary?

Yeah, I think it's a bit much to ask every single website on the internet that uses JavaScript to add a tag for the incredibly small demographic that is NoScript users.

https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2013/10/21/how-many-people-are-missi...

1%. Of all people.

Except... maybe your content is targeting exactly the kind of people to wander around the internet with Javascript disabled, and then they're suddenly a much larger slice of your potential audience. Writing articles on engineering, I imagine, already increases that slice. Anything related to security, I imagine another increase. People that participate in Indie Hacking Projects.... another big slice.

Anyway, why not just make it a part of that big ol blob of meta tags we all copy over to every index.html we write anyway? Including the magical bit of viewport meta to make pages look good on mobile?

Re: I bootstrapped my private-journaling project into a lifestyle business

#54

Post by bluedino »

oil25 wrote: post #8

Would like to read this, but I just get a blank page with Javascript disabled. Looks like I can't even archive the page - https://archive.fo/kLTbo . Looking at the page source code, it's completely unreadable - just a single line with a bunch of third party scripts and trackers. Disappointment over what the Web has become ensues.

I had the same problem trying to access the site with Lynx.

Re: I bootstrapped my private-journaling project into a lifestyle business

#55

Post by RHSeeger »

a13n wrote: post #43
komali2 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand why you feel justified in this tone, because it would be absurd to assume a web application could work without Javascript in 2019. But like... a static blog post? Why bother with JS at all? It seems like creating more work that necessary, bloating downloads, increasing load speed, and for no reason blocking out people with JS disabled (so like, not just people using Firefox with plugins, but people that…

Indie Hackers is so much more than just a site with static content. There are user accounts and voting and commenting, just for starters. The market of people who disable JS is minuscule and very likely not worth the effort to serve. If you choose to disable a core web technology, then you should expect that many sites will not work for you.

> If you choose to disable a core web technology, then you should expect that many sites will not work for you.

If you choose to disable a core web technology, then you should expect that many users will not work with you.

Re: I bootstrapped my private-journaling project into a lifestyle business

#56

Post by dhruvkar »

ska wrote: post #22
tozeur wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He prefaced to let OP know that he doesn’t intend to be disparaging and only wants to offer feedback. Not every critique is a personal attack...

I didn't see any feedback. Just a statement of questionable veracity that reads negatively, to me at least.

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion.

Given that many users here aren't native English speakers/writers, the tone that might seem obvious to you & I, might actually be completely inadvertent.

Re: I bootstrapped my private-journaling project into a lifestyle business

#57

Post by tracker1 »

a13n wrote: post #10
oil25 wrote: post #8

Would like to read this, but I just get a blank page with Javascript disabled. Looks like I can't even archive the page - https://archive.fo/kLTbo . Looking at the page source code, it's completely unreadable - just a single line with a bunch of third party scripts and trackers. Disappointment over what the Web has become ensues.

That's really weird that the internet doesn't work with JavaScript disabled in 2019.

I'm working on several applications that only support browsers with ES2017 (async) and above... That said, for mostly static content, there's very little excuse not to do server renders. I mean this stuff isn't new, and dynamic bits can be attached after render. Hell, most of the interaction beyond the text content I'd be fine with.

One thing that REALLY bugs me, is blocking usage of analytics systems that you cannot access a site without it. Makes the site unusable if the analytics are blocked or otherwise fail to load. I keep JS on, but will be damned if I shut of uBlock.

Re: I bootstrapped my private-journaling project into a lifestyle business

#59

Post by pinky1417 »

kolbe wrote: post #18
blorenz wrote: post #11

I'm curious why with $20K MRR it will take a Kickstarter to create a mobile app.

We have no clue what his costs are. For all we know he loses money each month. There's no faster way to get me to stop listening than to tell me your revenues and omit your costs.

You're right to be skeptical when costs are omitted. Skepticism is especially warranted when you're looking at a standalone company. However, cost estimation can be a bit of a dark art, especially for side projects. Sure, the article would be better if we at least got the readily available vendor cost information: hosting, contractors, etc. That still wouldn't tell us everything though: cost of the owner's time, cost of failed prior projects, etc. In short, generating a total cost estimate involves multiple choice variables.

At any rate, do you believe his recurring costs, however you quantify them, are likely to be anywhere near $20k a month? It seems very likely that this is a profitable venture.

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