[jcol]

Building a website that has the potential to gain traction requires understanding how and why your users are going to use your site. Sure he can A/B test it himself, but at this rate, he's going to spend another 3 years figuring it out and by then he will have burned out and lost motivation.

People that want to visit a website that lets you vote on legislative policies and then talk about it, would likely be of above average intelligence. The fact that he has a comment system and nothing but a few "I agree" type posts and submitted it to HN for feedback is a clear sign that he doesn't understand the mechanics of building a website that people want to visit.

I'm not sure why everyone these days thinks they can just throw up a website and people will magically appear and start using it-- it's not that easy!

[maresca]

This is only a MVP. Traction or not, I will still be working on it in another 3 years because I feel that Americans' voices in politics fall on deaf ears, and this is too important to give up on.

Targeting a market of only people of above average intelligence is wrong and undemocratic. The purpose of the site is so that EVERY American can understand the legislation that governs them. Based on the current political setting, this site is exactly what America needs. Sure it may be rough around the edges, but it will get there.

But damn me for trying, right?

[jcol]

What if you only have 30 users after putting 3-4 years into this? You don't know burn-out till you've experienced it.

You can't target everyone because everyone doesn't care. You can't target everyone because you don't have the budget to support it. You can't target everyone because you will never reach the critical mass needed to sustain it.

Unintelligent people usually avoid politics because it is a highly complex subject. Your website is not perfect for them because your website doesn't simplify anything for them. Getting the average Joe to care about legislative policies will require you to understand why they avoid it in the first place.

See all of these things you aren't taking into consideration? Someone with experience can save you the trouble of having to figure them out on your own.

All I'm saying is that if you find someone to help you polish this up, you can avoid a lot of common mistakes and save yourself a lot of time and frustration.