Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis • Hacker News Board

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#91

Post by benatkin » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:18 AM UTC

md224 wrote: post #64

Smudge wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's already received complaints and sort of laughed them away: http://dcurt.is/unkudo Personally I think it's bad UX, but what do I know; I'm not Dustin Curtis.

It's definitely bad UX. Curtis tries to brush away criticism with his claim that the "kudos" number is "an otherwise meaningless number," but this argument is fatally flawed. Plenty of things that human beings use for social signaling are, when removed from context, technically "meaningless", but within context they can hold plenty of meaning. In the case of Curtis's website, the "Kudos" counter is implied to display…

I disagree with your outright deceit allegation, because the number of people who enjoyed the article enough for a kudos is sure to be less than the number of people who bothered with the widget in the upper-right corner of the screen. I wish I had a study handy but it's well-established that far fewer people who read an article continue interacting with the page after they're done. For me to believe that it's a serious problem I'd have to be convinced that at least 50% of the kudos were from people who didn't think it was worthy of kudos.

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#92

Post by edwinnathaniel » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:31 AM UTC

rmateu wrote: post #74

stuartmemo wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your other goals were to be arrogant and elitist, you've accomplished them as well.

Maybe because in Venezuela we are bombarded with propaganda everyday about how terrible meritocracy is, it bothers me to see this sentiment here. As geeks, don't we recognize that The Deck ads are better than Google AdWords? Isn't the MacBook Air currently better than probably any other laptop? Wasn't Gmail the best thing since sliced bread for a long time? I get it that it's part of the script in a socialist revolut…

Let's agree to disagree.

His product is compelling for some people.

The Deck is compelling for some people.

MacBook Air is compelling for some people.

GMail is compelling for some people.

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#93

Post by Katelyn » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:34 AM UTC

1. Kudos Button: Why the controversy? I've always viewed it as a meaningless counter that's fun to hover over. I never took the counts seriously. Sometimes I visit your site just to send arbitrary kudos. What's most concerning about the buttons is the number of readers that feel "victimized," "deceived" or "tricked" from, well...a css element.

2. Svbtle: There are few names I've come across in my career that are as painful as this one to read, spell or pronounce. It gives me anxiety, and what's worse is that it's inspired by Svpply. A good name is a word that you can tell someone over the phone without them asking you how to spell it. Period.

3. The ideas panel is cool. Is there a way you could generate the list in other ways than just manually adding tags? Could you add a bookmarking tool, for example, that adds keywords to your Ideas List once you bookmark a page you find thought-provoking?

4. The S* Network: Your strategy to build a platform exclusive for exceptionally high-rated bloggers to use wont work for several reasons, here's just a few:

4a. I loved your site's design until I saw others on your platform using it. Then it became boring and nauseating. The design of a blog tells a story sometimes just as much as the content does. It gives the blogger personality, and the reader something fresh to look at.

4c. Top bloggers (any bloggers) not only use design to express themselves, but also to stand out. To be remembered. Eventually when you notice a site's design enough times, you realize you might want to check out who the author is.

4d. Social elements and "Sharing" buttons can look messy at times, but the fact is, bloggers like their content shared, and readers like to share content they enjoy. Removing arguably the most widely used tool on the web much poorer design that displaying a 'tweet' button after each post.

4e. Aside from 'ideas' your platform doesn't have anything that takes away the pain that enough users have to make it worth building. I add 'blogging' to pg's list of frighteningly ambitious startup ideas..

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#94

Post by recursive » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:41 AM UTC

54mf wrote: post #83

tptacek wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How could you possibly care enough about Curtis' made-up number to call him a dick? Never mind. I couldn't possibly care. It's a game. Relax.

It's a dark pattern. In my opinion, at least; an ambiguous interface element with unexpected and unintended consequences. Judging by his obvious design talent, I think Mr. Curtis should know better, especially in light of the incredibly negative response. It's a dick move. You care enough to follow through with replying to me, it seems. I'm plenty relaxed, I just thought it was worth calling a spade a spade in this c…

Except it doesn't actually have consequences.

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#95

Post by MartinCron » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:41 AM UTC

Katelyn wrote: post #93

1. Kudos Button: Why the controversy? I've always viewed it as a meaningless counter that's fun to hover over. I never took the counts seriously. Sometimes I visit your site just to send arbitrary kudos. What's most concerning about the buttons is the number of readers that feel "victimized," "deceived" or "tricked" from, well...a css element. 2. Svbtle: There are few names I've come across in my career that are as p…

2. Svbtle: There are few names I've come across in my career that are as painful as this one to read, spell or pronounce.

Absolutely. I thought that "kiln" was a horrible product name (it still is) but we've set the bar lower with this.

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#96

Post by mcantelon » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:41 AM UTC

michaelleland wrote: post #30

devinfoley wrote: post #20

"This is the blogging platform for creative, intelligent, and witty people. Membership by invitation only." Am I the only person that laughed out loud at this?

I laughed as well, but because I thought it was a fantastic move. The entire design is a brand, and by not opening it up to everybody, it will create the desire to be on the "in crowd." Arrogant? Hardly. Brilliant? Definitely.

Using exclusivity to market things is a novel concept?

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#97

Post by nchlswu » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:45 AM UTC

skeletonjelly wrote: post #46

pspeter3 wrote: post #15

If the domain name is invite only, is there any chance that the code will be open source so other people can run their own version of svbtle?

From the article it looks like he wants to maintain the "branding" of his blog so people recognise it as having a consistent quality - which I think is totally ridiculous as it's way too minimal to stand out. A good designer could clone the style in minutes. So what sets it apart? The way the editor promotes capturing ideas? This part isn't open to the public. Seems a bit odd. It's working I suppose. And the "invite…

I'd argue that he's already established the brand and it will forever stand out as Dustin's -- to his /target/ audience.

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#98

Post by nchlswu » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:49 AM UTC

pclark wrote: post #88

Smudge wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's already received complaints and sort of laughed them away: http://dcurt.is/unkudo Personally I think it's bad UX, but what do I know; I'm not Dustin Curtis.

this is a good reminder as to how different visual and user experience design are. just because you can make a pretty design does not automatically qualify you to design useable software.

This may be a UX/Visual issue, but how is it a usability issue?

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#99

Post by patrickaljord » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:51 AM UTC

rmateu wrote: post #74

stuartmemo wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your other goals were to be arrogant and elitist, you've accomplished them as well.

Maybe because in Venezuela we are bombarded with propaganda everyday about how terrible meritocracy is, it bothers me to see this sentiment here. As geeks, don't we recognize that The Deck ads are better than Google AdWords? Isn't the MacBook Air currently better than probably any other laptop? Wasn't Gmail the best thing since sliced bread for a long time? I get it that it's part of the script in a socialist revolut…

I don't care about elitism, but I wouldn't use this word to describe that case. It would be more like cocky and not very elegant.

Re: Codename: Svbtle by Dustin Curtis

#100

Post by cmelbye » Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 2:52 AM UTC

manuletroll wrote: post #23

dchuk wrote: post #18

Am I correct in assuming the post text editor was all custom built? If not, can anyone link to a solution that is as clean as that? I love the idea of just typing on the page versus typing into a special box with a hundred buttons along the top

That's pure speculation but I'd guess the editor simply uses a div with the contenteditable attribute set to true. Edit : Okay, so much for speculation.

It's Markdown, not a WYSIWYG editor.