owkaye's comments

owkaye | 13 years ago | on: Truffle.io - Life is complicated so we made dating simple.

Doesn't matter. I would never use my main linkedin account to login, and I won't bother to create a(nother) linkedin account just to access your service. Nor would I ever want to date a 'working professional'. Sorry, not for me but best of luck with it. Hope it works for you.

owkaye | 14 years ago | on: Google+ traffic down 27% in the last two weeks

I've had a gmail account for years yet I still have not received an invitation from google to join G+ ... so why should I care about its success or failure when I cannot even use it yet???

owkaye | 14 years ago | on: Tell everyone: Use target=_blank if your pages have videos

What truly annoys me is the proliferation of Javascript links. They prevent me from opening the page in a new tab, and I have learned that VERY OFTEN I prefer to open pages in new tabs. So the Javascript links take away my control and I HATE THAT!!!

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: What about email alerts on a per-thread basis?

So you're saying that by NOT giving people an easy notification system HN avoids dealing with some of the folks who might be more tempted to ruin it, right?

That makes sense ... I guess. I'm not convinced that it's a good approach to avoiding the bad guys, but it's easy.

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: What about email alerts on a per-thread basis?

I just received my first email notice from notifo and it's still not clear to me when I will (and will not) receive email notices at HN:

Will I get them ONLY when someone replies to a specific post I've made?

Will I get them when someone posts a reply in a thread I've created, even though the reply is to someone else's post instead of to mine?

Will I get them when someone posts a reply to someone else in a thread that someone else has created?

These are just a few of the questions that remain unanswered until I do some more testing ... but my current suspicion is that notifo cannot notify me unless the post is a direct reply to one of my posts.

If this is true it means I will NOT get a notice -- even in a thread I created -- when a reply is made to someone else's post.

And if this is the case it will fail to notify me of all the HN activity I want to be notified about.

:(

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: What about email alerts on a per-thread basis?

"Well, I didn't make it. :-)"

I know, I wasn't complaining about anything you've done. I just think the lack of information on its availability is lame-brained, and the fact that no information is available on this site which explains how to use it is short-sighted ... and the actual steps required before you can enable it are also overly demanding and unnecessary.

But that's just my opinion ... :)

"pg -- in my anecdotal observation -- tends to like to use YC companies' technology where he can."

Makes sense "IF" the feature is documented in an obvious place here on the HN site so we will AT LEAST know that it exists. In this case not only is the feature undocumented but it is also far more time-consuming to implement than it should be.

What's more troublesome for me is the fact that it apparently offers no option to "unsubscribe" from threads after you're no longer interested in them -- which means you'll continue receiving emails on threads you're done with.

Either that, or you only receive emails when someone replies to your specific posts, and maybe you won't get any email notices when people reply to other posts in the thread you want to monitor.

All in all the notifo service is still unclear to me, but from what I read so far I have a feeling that it is too limited to do what I actually want, which is to get notices on any THREAD I want to monitor -- not just get notices when someone replies to specific posts of mine.

" At the time Notifo was added, there were a bunch of threads. I think that, since that time, there's a bit of "you should be able to figure this out" involved. "

If this is the case then in my opinion it is not only an ignorant but also an arrogant attitude. Why should I be expected to think that such a feature exists when nowhere is it explained properly?

" What I provided was essentially a pointer to relevant search terms. "

I know, but at least you got me started. HN didn't even to that much -- but they certainly could have -- simply by adding a sentence to the profile page stating that push notices are available on a limited basis at notifo.com.

" I agree, it's not the clearest thing in the world. "

I know it's not your idea of a good software implementation, but for the life of me I cannot understand why a company/service like HN -- which anyone might expect to provide clear and concise information on important features -- has not posted a simple explanation that (1) notification is available, and (2) here's how to get it.

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: What about email alerts on a per-thread basis?

Well, I didn't have any idea what that "notifo" term meant ... and in fact I still don't.

So you're suggesting that the blank notifo field in my profile, with no explanation of how to use it or what it does, might actually send me an email if I enter the proper URL and make the appropriate changes on the notifo website?

For starters the "notifo" label on the blank field might be better as a link to the notifo website. At least then we would have a clue about where to begin to possibly learn enough to enable simple notifications for the threads we start or want to follow.

I hate to say it but this is about the worst implementation of a notification system I have ever seen in my life. Why not just put a 'notices' link at the top or bottom of every thread page when a visitor is logged in? Then when I click it, take me to a page that allows me to manage my notification subscriptions in a simple, straightforward and OBVIOUS manner?

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: Best to-to list, outliner, task manager

I think this thread has served its purpose. Workflowy appears to be the ideal tool for what I need. If someone has a better suggestion please email me, my email address is in my profile. Thanks.

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: Best to-to list, outliner, task manager

I will start by looking at workflowy since you like its ability to focus on a single task when that's all you care about at that time. Thanks. (edit: I think workflowy may be the one I heard about here a while back, the name sounds somewhat familiar.)

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: Best to-to list, outliner, task manager

I've tried pen and paper and it doesn't work well for me.

I have no time or desire to rewrite my tasks every day. There are literally hundreds of them, each with tens or hundreds of sub-tasks needing to be finished before the main task is considered complete.

Basically I want to use a computerized system because I believe that it will be far faster, easier and more flexible for me.

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: Best to-to list, outliner, task manager

If you can post a URL and/or provide some reasons why you say this is a good one, that would be helpful. (edit: I found a program called "Getting Things GNOME!" that is probably similar to the one you referred to as "things". Thanks.)

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN: Why is it so hard to find a job?

I've been a programmer for 15+ years and I'm very very good in the capabilities you say you're looking for.

I am also very business-minded having run my own outsource programming service overseas for the better part of a decade until I moved back to the USA 20 months ago.

Unfortunately I have learned that most companies in the USA these days are not willing to allow me to use the language in which I have developed and practiced my expertise for the past 15 years, regardless of how much faster I can produce for them in this language.

Instead most companies seen to hold out for programmers who know today's "popular" languages. So they lose out on my extensive background and experience, and I lose out on an opportunity to bring one of these companies the kind of service and performance they complain about not being able to find.

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: E-mail Sign On

One of my clients has so many web-based requests that he asked me to build a better system, and this system is basically what I came up with.

A visitor wants to use one of our request forms so he enters his email address and clicks Submit. The next page says "Check your inbox, spam and junk mail boxes for the email we just sent you, then click the link to complete our request form."

Nearly all of them click the link. SPAM and bogus requests have dropped to zero.

Once in a while we get a complaint stating that they never received the confirmation email, but we know they were all sent because we BCC copies to a special gmail account for archival purposes.

The client is happy.

No, this is not a login system but I'm going to implement it on my new website as a login system because it is MUCH simpler than dealing with passwords ... and there is far less resistance to this system than some of you seem to be complaining about.

The fact is, people really dislike dealing with passwords and this system gets rid of them.

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Ask HN - rate my startup idea

Interviews are not illegal and they are typically a very important part of the hiring process, so I don't see this as a problem.

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: How to Open a US Bank for NON-US Citizen?

U.S. banks have gone through dramatic changes in recent years. Now nearly all of them require proof of U.S. residency. Local banks ask you to appear in person and online banks use other means to prove that you live in the USA.

If you really NEED a U.S. bank account and are not personally in the USA, your best option may be to find someone here who already has one, then use his/her account.

I have always thought that there may be a unique opportunity here, so go ahead and email me privately if you'd like to discuss this further.

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: A Follow-Up to "The Web is Public Domain"

"she just happened to be completely ignorant about there being a way that she could avoid the obvious legal issues"

I think she has known all along that she's been running her business illegally by stealing other people's work without permission, and because she was never confronted about it until now she became emboldened to continue to expand her illegal practices.

I think she's acting ignorant, and it does not feel genuine to me at all. Anyone who claims to have been employed as an editor for 3 decades certainly knows what is legal and illegal. She just figured that she could get away with it -- and when confronted she decided that "the best defense is a strong offense" so she attacked the author verbally and tried to belittle her -- thinking perhaps that the author would simply back away and 'disappear' rather than assert her rights.

owkaye | 15 years ago | on: Makerfactory: Connecting localized fab tech with people needing stuff made.

One thing I really hate is when a website like this uses javascript links unnecessarily. They prevent me from opening the linked pages in new tabs, so I have to switch back and forth needlessly. When there is no need for javascript links -- which take control away from the user and make his experience distasteful -- why not just use NORMAL hyperlinks???
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