Startups Should Make it Easy on Users if they Shut Down

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/06/03/startups-should-bend-over-backwards-to-let-users-take-their-data-after-they-shut-down/

by iProject • 14 years ago

18 8 14 years ago

thenextweb.com

gwillen• 14 years ago

"Should", yes. It's not in their interest to spend the time doing it. Realistically, how many of their users are going to bother to figure out who it is that just screwed them, so they can avoid being screwed by the same founders again in the future?

If you value your shit, don't store it in the cloud. If you value your shit, don't hand your only copy of it to people who have no business model. If you're not paying money, you're not the customer. Etc. Etc. This shouldn't even need to be said anymore.

snprbob86• 14 years ago

It's in their interest for their reputation in the startup community if they value that.

ctdonath• 14 years ago

I'm reminded of a startup that was bought by HP to host photos. Eventually, there was nobody running the service. It was running, but just because the servers were stable and self-sufficient. Money was coming in, but nobody had time allocated to address the site beyond cashing checks. Someone was nice enough to post a note somewhere (showed up on HN) suggesting users get data out while they could.

The point is: when a service collapses to a certain level, it's done. Yes, great if someone can pitch in to help users recover the loss. In the example given and ranted at in the article, be thankful the service was still running and there was at least a "download" button.

rogerbinns• 14 years ago

And here is the blog post by Ned Batchelder explaining how he wrote Lifeboat for Tabblo (the startup in question).

http://nedbatchelder.com/blog/201201/goodbye_tabblo.html

ned_batchelder• 14 years ago

Just to be clear: there was no "money coming in," Tabblo stopped selling products shortly after HP bought the company in 2007, and the site had always been free to use online.

I wish HP had given more notice, or had tried to email the user base, though.

gojomo• 14 years ago

Also, airplanes should crash in uninhabited areas.

tlogan• 14 years ago

This part is funny:

> See, just because things didn’t work out for

> your company doesn’t mean that users should have to

> pay the price.

The service was free! Meaning 100% free. What kind of entitlement is this?

icebraining• 14 years ago

No, it wasn't; the users paid with their time and access to their personal photos, with a license that allowed them a "nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display" the photos.

Startups Should Make it Easy on Users if they Shut Down

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