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theIntuitionist | 3 years ago

I think “organic” is prob the wrong word. It’s already a rather tortured word, even in just the farming world where it’s legislated. My brother, a small organic farmer with about 5 acres really groaned recently when telling me that hydroponic veggies can be labeled organic. And when I see it on non-far products (like salt, which is a real example that will make any nerd’s hair stand on end), it just feels like intentionally misleading marketing, not an honest description.

Anyway, I have a real soft spot for the sort of software the author talks about. I think of shops who build software like this as “design build”. Like in the construction world where design build means a small shop focused on overall quality and fit of the home to its owner, not scale or economy, etc. maybe that is a phrase that works?

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pketh|3 years ago

I was thinking about that while coming up with the term. IRL 'organic' food labelling has a lot of real problems, some bordering on scam. Despite that, shoppers in a grocery store have generally the same overall idea of what organic food is Supposed to be. That ideal/supposed state is what I wanted to build off from to have a term that speaks to regular people.

It's definitely not a perfect parallel in lots of ways. That said, I think this may be one of those times where the perfect (e.g. requiring the technically perfect word) may be the enemy of the good (of communicating important consumer information to people.)

To that end, I tried to keep the criteria of 'organic software' very short and free of exceptions.

theIntuitionist|3 years ago

I'm down for any label that sticks on this concept. I would love for this idea to be part of the larger conversation around building software and communities on line. Thanks for the reply and article!

hmmdar|3 years ago

I recently had a similar experience. I purchased a bag of citric acid, and it was boldly labeled as non-GMO and "approved for use with organic food".

nanomonkey|3 years ago

That is because most citric acid is made in genetically modified black mold grown on GMO produced corn syrup. Sounds crazy, but it's true, and likely pretty safe. A similar process is used to produce most vitamin C supplements.