←back to thread

What I Self Host

(fredrikmeyer.net)
116 points FredrikMeyer | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.386s | source
Show context
ekjhgkejhgk ◴[] No.45646503[source]
How come everything is "opinionated" these days, and since when has that become a compliment? I don't want software to have opinions, I want it to do what I tell it.
replies(6): >>45646639 #>>45647522 #>>45650671 #>>45652815 #>>45653850 #>>45663985 #
1. freetonik ◴[] No.45653850[source]
>I want it to do what I tell it.

Me too, but writing software that does whatever user tells it to do, in a consistent and robust way, is very hard. Making it accessible and developing good UX for that kind of software is even harder. This is why a lot of heavily-customizable software, IMO, is so hard to use and maintain in the long run.

On the other hand, if the developer, who is by definition immersed in the domain, can use their experience to make good decisions and enforce them with limitations, the resulting software has a higher chance to be easier to use and easier to maintain.

I tend to gravitate towards "opinionated" software with very limited customizability because in my experience that kind of software is of better quality, on average.