
Show HN: I made an open-source coding platform - arthtyagi
https://github.com/the-domecode/
======
ColinWright
This is going to sound harsh, but I am genuinely trying to help.

I replied to you earlier[0] at considerable length when you asked about how to
acquire users ... you haven't replied.

You continue to post here again and again and again and again, the same thing
over and over, with no evidence that you are actually open to receiving
advice, suggestions, or feedback.

More, HN users are not your target audience anyway!

My advice ... and I have no expectation that you will read this, let alone
respond, but even so I offer it for free ... is to back off submitting the
same thing repeatedly, think hard, and write something concerning your site
that _specifically targeted at the HN audience._

Your site is slick and glossy, it's probably lovely, but I'm not in your
target audience either, so I haven't used it, and won't know how usable or
useful it is. It might be wonderful, but this is not the place to get users.
This is the place to get advice about the site, business, development,
strategies, _etc._ But you need to share things with HN before HN will
respond. Simply telling us about the site _won 't work._ We're not your
audience.

So, how will you respond to that? _Your coding ability is not in question,_
but you need to think much, much more about who you are talking to, and why.
Clearly just submitting the site over and over isn't working. I've given you
clues as to why not, not you need to apply yourself to solving the problem,
and not just doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.

[0]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24196665](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24196665)

~~~
arthtyagi
hey, I'm really sorry you feel that way but look closely, I've actually
replied thoroughly to your comment with a few questions. And no, I didn't just
comment now, I commented on it before you commented this. And I am really
eager to getting user feedback. I even changed the description of the platform
on the landing page after I read your whole comment. The previous description
as I understand it might have been either misleading or not clarifying the
question, a very basic question "What's DomeCode?". I genuinely want to
receive some helpful feedback on how to better acquire users, how to plan out
to monetize it and even how to get donors/ funding. I'm absolutely willing to
take anyone who's along with me on this journey to grow the platform. Since
then btw, the userbase has increased to 237 and the retention rate is doing
well too. I have added several additions in terms of performance increase and
ease of use to the platform.

~~~
ColinWright
> _" look closely, I've actually replied thoroughly to your comment with a few
> questions. And no, I didn't just comment now, I commented on it before you
> commented this."_

You are mistaken.

At the time I am writing this comment, the comment to which you are replying
here is
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24235418](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24235418)
and it was written 4 days ago.

Your reply with answers is here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24242182](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24242182)

At this point in time you wrote that 3 days ago.

So no, I wrote the comment above _before_ you answered those questions.

I wrote my comment above _4 days ago_. You wrote your reply to my questions _3
days ago_.

And looking at your other HN submissions, they now appear to be dead-on-
arrival. I suspect you've submitted the same thing so many times, they've been
flagged often enough that the system now effectively thinks your submissions
are spam. You can try emailing the mods to get that reversed, but your posts
don't seem to contain anything new.

> _I am really eager to getting user feedback._

That is evident, but you are not changing your tactics in any way. All you are
doing is telling us again of the platform's existence, and telling us again
that you want to know how to get more users. New features don't carry any
weight if the reader isn't already using your site.

> _I even changed the description of the platform on the landing page ..._

So now when I go to the landing page there is a bar of options I know nothing
about, a HUGE logo that takes up nearly all of my screen, and this:

 _" Get more. With less hassle. Free & Open Source."_

That tells me nothing.

It's called "DomeCode", but looking at the bar across the top, if it's a
coding site, why is "Music" the first thing there?

If I page down the first words below the fold are:

 _" Learn. Practice. Discuss. Have the musical element. All in one place. And
more."_

Learn what? Music? Coding for music? Practice what? Discuss what? And with
whom? And I, for one, don't can about a musical element, especially when I
code.

Finally, halfway down that second page I get this:

 _" DomeCode is an open source platform to help you advance your coding
journey ..."_

I really don't know what you mean by "advance your coding journey", and at
this point I would close the page and move on.

I have no magic bullets for getting users, nor how to monetise it. I do expect
that most of the people here on HN would have a similar reaction to mine:

At first glance:

* I don't know what it does;

* I don't know what problems it solves;

* I don't know why I should be interested.

I know you're trying really hard, I'm sure the site is slick and fabulous for
those who have a need for it, but you are not communicating what it does, how
it does it, or why someone should stay. I'm trying to give you the point of
view of a visitor who doesn't already know everything you do. I'm sure your
explanations are clear _to you_ , but you are not the person to whom you are
trying to convey the message.

Looking at the answer you provided in your other comment, one thing you say
is:

> _Maybe I 'll try a "What is it?" separate page that allows the user to
> understand it better?_

People in general won't click around to find out what the site is for, or what
it does, unless they already have a reason to think it might be interesting.
Why should they do that?

So what does your site actually do?

* Competitions to test the experienced;

* Tutorials to guide the newcomers;

* Forums to discuss the challenges;

* Music to program by!

Is that right? How long do I need to hunt around before I find that out?

And if it's _not_ right then I _still_ don't know what it does.

Finally ... who are you trying to attract? Everyone? That won't work. You need
to target a niche audience and get them hooked. Then they will (ok, might)
draw in others. But you need to be clear about the problem the user has that
you are solving, and the benefits of solving it with your site instead of
somewhere else.

Again, all that sounds harsh, but I could have just walked away. I'm trying to
help. Again, your coding skills are not in doubt, and the site might be great.
If you're retaining 237 users, excellent! Get them to tell others, or get them
to tell you what they like.

~~~
arthtyagi
I read the comment on the other post I made and I guess instead of
acknowledging something and wasting others time with it, I should rather work
on it and that's what I've been doing. My bad, I didn't check the comments on
this post for a week or so but now that I have, I'd like to thank you for
taking the time to help me out with this.

 _> Maybe I'll try a "What is it?" separate page that allows the user to
understand it better?_

 _> People in general won't click around to find out what the site is for, or
what it does, unless they already have a reason to think it might be
interesting. Why should they do that?_

 _> So what does your site actually do?_

 _> Competitions to test the experienced;_

 _> Tutorials to guide the newcomers;_

 _> Forums to discuss the challenges;_

 _> Music to program by_

Yes, this is exactly what it's meant for. To help the beginners/intermediates
get better at programming, conveniently practice on challenges ( and quizzes )
from the same platform, discuss challenges or any other query they might have
in accordance with the Forum Guidelines, music to program by, a disposable
code editor for those who are getting started with front-end (basically allows
the user to watch the tutorial, code and even have the preview from a single
tab instead of having a tab for the tutorial, a coding editor and a local host
preview window open), take notes and plan tasks on the platform ( not claiming
them to be essential features to the platform but something users can use
conveniently, I will be engineering a way to sync them with Google Keep in the
future so it makes more sense to use them ), create project/product listings
that encapsulates all the essential information regarding the product and all
the other listings as well in a shareable product link and more ( more in
regards to features that I'm adding within a few weeks ). I created a pitch
deck and that does have a Benefits slide that states :

\- You don’t need to navigate to dozens of platforms anymore, DomeCode
organizes all the tools and resources for you.

\- You can finally focus more on programming instead of finding the “right”
website for every small thing.

\- You get to collaborate with developers around you.

\- DomeCode provides its users with a significant productivity boost.

\- Save around 30% of your overall time spent in the process of learning a
programming concept, taking notes, and practicing it.

\- You simply get more without any hassle.

This is an investor pitch deck so the 30% claim isn't entirely precise but I
found out that it was around that number for me to complete the process of
learning a new concept and practicing it.

I'll include the relevant information on the website now and remove the non-
essential existing info.

Thanks a lot!

