67 Signals hasn't changed a thing

http://67signals.com/

by selamis • 12 years ago

223 71 12 years ago

67signals.com

davidw• 12 years ago

Neither has 73 Prime Numbers. We believe our technology will stand the test of time. http://73primenumbers.com/

notacoward• 12 years ago

This inspired me to check whether 69signals exists. Yes, it does, and amazingly it's not a porn site.

nswanberg3• 12 years ago

This is too mean and angry to be a good parody. This one is better: http://friedisms.tumblr.com/page/4 (the one about monkeys is still my favorite).

interstitial• 12 years ago

Depends on your definition of parody. I think it fits Swiftian parody just fine.

coldtea7• 12 years ago

Swiftian parody is not just mean. Actually, with some exceptions (like the "modest proposal"), it's not mean at all.

And, most important of all, to fit Swiftian parody it would have to be Swiftian-level good. This is subreddit level humor....

bluedino• 12 years ago

What's the story behind the name '37signals'? I understand '42floors' since they are in real estate, but some of these names are just ridiculous.

logicallee2• 12 years ago

ever have trouble recalling or typing either of those two?

basically they're branding two digits + a common word. why not.

Personally, I prefer to brand things that make slightly more sense, but to each their own. it works just as well as branding an "io" at the end of something.

it's just about repeating it a few times, until it can be recalled, and once it can it's quick to get to.

djur• 12 years ago

I forget what exact number it is all the time. "32 signals? 39 signals?"

nav1• 12 years ago

"The company is named after the 37 radio telescope signals identified by astronomer Paul Horowitz as potential messages from extraterrestrial intelligence."

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/37signals

clavalle• 12 years ago

I believe that was the number of unexplained signals from SETI which may be from an intelligent alien civilization.

ansimionescu• 12 years ago

I, too, get so angry when people do stuff. It is simply infuriating!

AnotherDesigner2• 12 years ago

That's not funny or educational or even interesting. It looks like jealousy or unfounded hate. I can't really think of anything 37signals has done to warrant this. They make good products and treat both their employees and customers well. Am I missing something?

raganwald• 12 years ago

Am I missing something?

Yes. If you went to high school, you may recall a certain type of person: They'd pick someone else, anyone else, and make fun of them for no reason other than to elevate themselves as an arbiter of taste.

"Ewww, reg is wearing a bow tie. What a fashion disaster!"

smrtinsert• 12 years ago

Ah yes, when they believed Rails would eat the world.

anon13852• 12 years ago

They make good products

Do they? That isn't my experience.

treat […] their […] customers well

Do they? That isn't my experience.

AnotherDesigner2• 12 years ago

Really? I haven't used Basecamp in years (I work alone most of the time) but last time I did it seemed well thought out and stable.

I have read "Getting Real" and have seen a number of their articles they've posted on customer service and taking care of their employees over the years. What have your experiences been?

coldtea7• 12 years ago

Isn't it? You don't seem to previde any specifics.

Plus, whether it's your experience or not is irrelevant. The general consensus is that they do both. You won't find many people in the industry believing otherwise, not many unsatisfied customers in their forums.

jack-r-abbit• 12 years ago

That isn't my experience.

That is my experience.

Hmmm... I see we have reached an impasse.

awj2• 12 years ago

Well, yes, technically when you have no experience with a company or their products "good products and customer service" isn't your experience.

Or, you know, you could provide some kind of details.

asdasf6• 12 years ago

That's not funny or educational or even interesting.

Two of those are subjective and I'll ignore. But it is educational, it links to alternatives to 37 signals products.

I can't really think of anything 37signals has done to warrant this

The company and its reputation was built on aggressively bad-mouthing and trash-talking anyone and everyone they could. Remember when rails started out? Anyone who dared to like something other than their framework was an idiot (at best).

scintill76• 12 years ago

The company and its reputation was built on aggressively bad-mouthing and trash-talking anyone and everyone they could.

Interesting, this Wired article[0] seems to back up this perception. In this light the 67signals page may be somewhat insightful by parodying the opinionated-jerk rockstar programmer caricature, if a little too mean-spirited and lacking in wit.

[0] http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/16-03/mf_signals...

unclebucknasty• 12 years ago

I used Basecamp a few years back. It was neither horrible nor great in my opinion.

But, I don't think the software needs to be bad or they need to mistreat people to be parodied. If you can capture an element of something, then exaggerate it into absurdity. it's parody.

Also not so sure about attributing jealousy or hate as the motive here. I mean, it could be, but I just don't know what's on the author's mind (except that he/she clearly believes some things about the company to be absurd).

But, it does strike me that the only things worth parodying, for the most part, are those that either succeed or that fail in some very public or fantastic way.

hmhrex6• 12 years ago

Speaking of 37signals. I am looking for a good PM and CRM software. Either a piece of software that does both, or two separate that integrate nicely. Any suggestions?

We are a Web company that handles projects including Web, Film, Photography and design.

We might be developing one in house if we can't find one that meets our needs.

xemoka• 12 years ago

Have you taken a look at ActiveCollab [0]? I have a friend who's in a similar space who swears by it... looking to get my environment to move to it as well.

[0] https://www.activecollab.com/

hmhrex6• 12 years ago

This might be exactly what I'm looking for. looks really great.

gboudrias• 12 years ago

We're working on mass hosting for OpenAtrium (open source PM tool) and CiviCRM (open source CRM).

Obviously we're pretty big fans of open-source. Let me know if you want beta access: http://praxis.coop/en/contact (forgive the website, it's new).

conorclearshot• 12 years ago

I'd like to plug DuetApp.

hmhrex6• 12 years ago

Very slick. I like the price as well. Unfortunately it's missing a few things that we need, such as Gantt charts, and a little better CRM features.

thoughtpalette2• 12 years ago

I'd be extremely surprised if you cannot manage to find one solution that fits your agency's needs from the plethora of SaaS products in those categories.

asdasf6• 12 years ago

I'd be extremely surprised if they can. Just because there are a lot of options, doesn't mean there's any good ones. Tons of nearly identical, virtually featureless products does not make it easier to find one that actually does the job.

adrianmsmith• 12 years ago

I spent ages looking for project management solutions and settled upon http://www.liquidplanner.com/ which I'm very happy about.

I blogged about why I made the choice, i.e. what it has that other tools doesn't, here: http://www.databasesandlife.com/liquid-planner/

hmhrex6• 12 years ago

Great review. Thanks for that information. I'll keep that one in mind as well.

antidaily• 12 years ago

Embarrassingly dumb. Especially considering the fact that they changed their name today: http://37signals.com/.

majestic2172• 12 years ago

It's dated nearly two years ago. What was that about "embarassingly dumb?"

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/01/31/this-site-mocks-37-...

awj2• 12 years ago

I personally think it was embarrassingly dumb before the name change.

pooshoot• 12 years ago

This is awesome. I love the links.

650REDHAIR• 12 years ago

I didn't even notice them until I read your comment.

That's pretty hilarious and I love the Trello link!

Argorak• 12 years ago

If your company has the stance of being opinionated and you have at least 3 instances of people investing the time to create an attempt at satire about you... you must have done _something_ right!

thrillgore• 12 years ago

Such edgy. Much satire. Wow.

justathrow2k2• 12 years ago

Please, stop talking in memes.

vadman• 12 years ago

U mad bro?

coldtea7• 12 years ago

"Making simple software and charging heaps because we are hip and edgy..."

Every time I see things such as these I think: 20-something, doesn't understand money ($20/month seems "too much"), doesn't understand business, not much sense of humor either, mostly pissed about other being succesful...

The kind of people who write M$ with a dollar sign.

pjmlp• 12 years ago

Yep, open source and free software is all great and dandy, until you try to make a living writing software, while trying to pay for the monthly bills.

api• 12 years ago

Yeah, and it bashes them for not having big-money VCs and having to bootstrap and thus having to be more frugal and charge more. In my mind that makes 37signals more "independent" than companies with big-money VC backers.

majestic2172• 12 years ago

I think it is suggesting that 37signals' software can be easily replaced by free alternatives (look at the links): google (gmail/calendar, etc.) accounts, skype, yammer, trello.

Based on the date the link was submitted to reddit was done around the same time as the Curebit fiasco. I like 37Signals but admittedly they did behave like arrogant aholes during it. Not something I'd expect from such well respected members of the tech community. The bit where DHH tweets their investors is what does it for me.

http://venturebeat.com/2012/01/28/cant-look-away/

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/01/31/this-site-mocks-37-...

nswanberg3• 12 years ago

That's the line that threw me off too. "Hip and edgy" is an amateur-hour schoolyard taunt. "Making simple software and charging heaps" would have been enough and kind of funny.

And the meanness made me overlook the funny bits like the subheader about less and more, and some of the sections, the quote by Ghandi, and the completely gratuitous "Happy Wednesday" way up in the corner that changes, depending on the day (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19865106/how-does-37signa...).

asdasf6• 12 years ago

Why are you bragging about making a bunch of uninformed, knee-jerk assumptions about someone you know nothing about? And why is this trash the top comment? Whether or not $20/month is too much does not depend on whether you have $20 to spend or not, it depends on the value you get from that $20. Products with very little value, and which have $0 alternatives that provide more value are not worth $20.

run4_too• 12 years ago

Made by some concerned youths

I don't think he's too far off.

Point being getting so pissed to make an entire website about a company you don't like says more about you than it does the company.

coldtea7• 12 years ago

Why are you bragging about making a bunch of uninformed, knee-jerk assumptions about someone you know nothing about?

You mean I'm in the bad making assumptions about a person making "a bunch of uninformed, knee-jerk assumptions" for other people in the form of a mean "parody" site?

Besides, who told you I "know nothing about" that person? I know what he wrote, and I know the tone he used. And I also have a pretty good sense of the kind of handle he'd use if he were to comment on HN.

And why is this trash the top comment?

Because people agree and voted for it to be. It's social news site in case you don't know.

Whether or not $20/month is too much does not depend on whether you have $20 to spend or not, it depends on the value you get from that $20. Products with very little value, and which have $0 alternatives that provide more value are not worth $20.

The value of something doesn't depend on what you say, it depends on what the market is willing to pay for it. Since they have a 10+ year, multi-million business with millions of customers, based on charging what they charge, I'd say the argument is pretty much settled.

If it feels like it ain't worth that much to you, you can use something else. I missed the part when using their service was mandatory. Or do you do parody sites for every "too expensive for me" product you find?

josephjrobison• 12 years ago

This is hilarious people! I'm sure the founders are laughing. It's just good humor c'mon....

arc_of_descent• 12 years ago

Some good humor here! Enjoyed it.

ChikkaChiChi• 12 years ago

I liked the part where I closed the tab, thus saving my eyes and computer from more stupidity.

bestdayever2• 12 years ago

This comment was almost as funny as the site!

mam8cc• 12 years ago

Context for those that were as out of the loop as I was:

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/01/31/this-site-mocks-37-...

talles• 12 years ago

Loved the "Clarity is kinfuhgjno"

67 Signals hasn't changed a thing

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