

Here's the basic problem: you're writing a text editor. Stop doing that. It's 2007. - nickb
http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/01/21/wrongroom?re

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kirubakaran
What is the problem if you learn something in the process?

Do you really think that the world needs more condescending blog posts and
less text editors?

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ashu
Silly. This is like saying "Stop innovating." Everybody thought search was a
done deal when GOOG arrived. Mp3 players all seemed fine until the iPod
arrived.

~~~
rglullis
Yeah. But what innovation do we have in a text editor that is only able to
function in full-screen mode?

What is new?

~~~
ashu
Well, nothing may be new in this case, perhaps. But innovation happens very
erratically and in spurts. One never knows what an artifact will be used for
in the future, or what it will inspire to be created next.

Regardless, my main argument was against the author's overly sensationalistic
and dangerous "stop writing text editors" point.

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iamwil
"We have to reinvent the wheel every once in a while, not because we need a
lot of wheels; but because we need a lot of inventors." - Bruce Joyce

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superjared
I dislike this post. Reading between the lines he's negating much of open
source software, e.g. "You shouldn't develop B because A exists"

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michaelneale
Here's the basic problem: you're writing a blog. Stop doing that. It's 2007.
__

__This comment tries to be funny.

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neilc
That post is stupid, and the author comes off like a condescending know-it-
all.

(1) If someone wants to write a text-editor, what's it to you? There are
countless independent software projects, the vast majority of which are
developing new versions/implementations of a pre-existing concept. Look at
mail clients: there are hundreds, and they all still basically suck, IMHO. The
fact that there is clearly an audience for this style of editor suggests that
there is something valuable about these editors that is not found in older
editors (I don't use them, so I don't know).

(2) Text editing is a fundamental activity; if we could improve its efficiency
by even a few percent, that would be enormously useful. Developing a slightly
better solitaire game, say, is far less useful than developing a text editor
that makes people (even a small group of people) more productive.

(3) The griping about runtime size is inane. "You're bitching about 22MB
language runtimes. Stop doing that. It's 2007.", one could say. If you need a
very small editor, there are already 10+ to choose from, and a dependency on a
.NET/Java runtime is otherwise not a big deal.

(4) As for the evidence-free claim that the people using these products are
analogous to "script kiddies", and that the "real authors" don't use them --
well, not sure any further comment is needed.

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Xichekolas
Even if the rant seems to be about nothing (who seriously cares if someone
wants to make another text editor? let them make whatever they want), you have
to admit the quote used as the YC news headline is great.

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engtech
This is one of my favs of 2007

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zyroth
and planned economy is superior, too.

