Ask HN: Why don't "geeks" use Geeklist?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5361732

by shaneeb • 13 years ago

3 13 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I have been trying to use Geeklist for a while. It's a great tool for geeks to connect and share stuff with each other but the only problem is there are no real geeks using it. Or the one's who do have accounts are not very active. Its kinda sad since it would be cool to have a more "social" place to connect with hackers (especially for newbies like myself).

Is it because hackers/geeks are inherently unsocial?

jgrahamc2• 13 years ago

I use HN.

I do not need 'badges', 'gamification', 'likes', 'high fives', 'regeeks', or any of the other bullshit that sites like Geeklist offer.

Also, Geeklist doesn't appear to have any actual information on it (see, for example, http://geekli.st/rekatz/links/15535). An entire page wasted on pictures of the submitter, social buttons, statistics, etc.

shaneeb3• 13 years ago

How about connecting with other geeks out there? Is that possibility not useful enough?

jgrahamc2• 13 years ago

I think it depends on what you mean by 'connecting'. I don't use Facebook, LinkedIn or G+ and so I'm unlikely to use something that has me build up a list of phony 'friends'.

Actually connecting with other people like me I do via meetups.

limmeau• 13 years ago

The real geeks are still on Usenet.

shaneeb3• 13 years ago

True, but then its the geeks who make the likes of Facebook, Twitter and then not use it themselves :)

kaoD2• 13 years ago

It's not apparent why it's useful for me. And it probably isn't.

Yet another aggregator? No thanks!

shaneeb3• 13 years ago

Connecting with other geeks/hackers?

kaoD2• 13 years ago

There are better media for that (Hacker News, GitHub, IRC, Slashdot...)

rangibaby• 13 years ago

My main experience with Geeklist has been the emails they send telling me to use their site more at least once a week.

I can understand them wanting to grow their network, but the damn thing won't let me unsubscribe because I can't log in (forgot password).

I've noticed quite a few sites hiding unsubscribe buttons behind a login wall lately. It's slimy, and not what I would expect from a site aimed at geeks.

jyu• 13 years ago

This is a violation of CAN-SPAM. Feel free to rightfully flag violators as spam.

Clarifying that to submit a valid opt-out request, a recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her email address and opt-out preferences, or take any other steps other than sending a reply email message or visiting a single page on an Internet website.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN-SPAM_Act_of_2003

knkella• 13 years ago

I think geeks are more inclined towards a simple interface, more like what hacker news and free node provide. But geeklist is more like facebook with with all those useless stuff like gamification, high fives etc.

In my opinion even a platform with only REST API would be more tempting for geeks rather than geeklist.

LarryMade2• 13 years ago

Went to the site and the only thing I saw was some tags and sign-up buttons... oh and a statement on how great it is.

On Hacker News, Slashdot, Dribble, etc. I immediately see how great it is. No log-ins to start, just geeky goodness.

Put the shiny stuff up front and move the about us in the back and you probably will attract more of us ADHD techie types.

ScottWhigham• 13 years ago

Another "I don't see how it's useful to me" vote here. I look at the tagline and I think, "How long can that last?"

"A place for geeks to share what they've done, who they did it with and connect with great companies and communities"

Okay - so I'm trying to work out the arc of a user's involvement based on the above statement. If all a "geek" ever does is trivial coding/work, then I could see them being an active member. "Today I wrote a loop!" and tomorrow's post is, "Today I solved a bug". That sort of involvement is pretty much how a beginner programming person would interact with a community, right? For guys like you and me, we work on problems that take months or years. So let's say I join, and I make an intro post: "Here's what I've done." Now what?

I'd ask the OP: what does "connect with hackers" mean to you? You've asked/mentioned it multiple times but I'm not quite clear what it means to you. Given the tagline of that site and my having made an intro post, I don't see where it goes.

Are there "great companies" trolling the site looking for "guys like me" to hire? I don't need that. Or are there "great companies" hiding in the background who desperately want to buy my services? Are there "great communities" on the site? That's what the tagline implies. And I don't get that - is Geeklist one community or multiple ones? There's just nothing on the home page that makes me want to join. To see anything at all, it appears I have to login with Facebook/etc.

Ask HN: Why don't "geeks" use Geeklist?

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