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Re:CoffeeStrap HN by euphemize on Monday December 23, 2013 @12:19PM (#6955319)
"HI HN, WE ARE BUILDING TINDER, BUT FOR LANGUAGE EDUCATION, WITH INSTITUTIONAL CERTIFICATION.

WE'RE TESTING IT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VENICE, AND WE'D LOVE NOW TO DO THIS ON HN AS WELL.

YOU THINK THAT'S A BAD IDEA, WHICH DOESN'T SOLVE A REAL PROBLEM? LET US KNOW WHY."

Your first paragraph is not informative at all. What if I don't know what Tinder is? You're suggesting that maybe your idea is bad (and we should tell you why) about 1/2 a screen before telling me what your idea actually is. How about putting that sentence "CoffeeStrap is a place..." right at the top?

p.s. I think your idea is great! But I need more help understanding what's going on :)

Re:CoffeeStrap HN by mahesh_rm on Monday December 23, 2013 @12:54PM (#6955501)
Thank you! Good critique, we just took for granted that the average HN user knows what Tinder is. We're basically trying to figure out how to replicate real world interaction between members belonging to different communities, but online. How we're doing it, well, we're still experimenting. :-)
Re:CoffeeStrap HN by Stratoscope on Monday December 23, 2013 @02:49PM (#6956155)
If the average HN reader knows what Tinder is, that could mean that 51% know and 49% don't know. Never ignore the 49%. :-)

Definitely agree about the "YOU THINK THAT'S A BAD IDEA" language. Besides being negative, it puts words in people's mouths, which is very off-putting.

Your project sounds neat, though. Best of luck with it!

Re:CoffeeStrap HN by euphemize on Monday December 23, 2013 @01:03PM (#6955559)
I may be an average HN reader, but I only vaguely know what Tinder is, and how it works. Don't rely on my own half-baked idea of what another app is to make me understand your own - straight up tell me first. Good luck!
Re:CoffeeStrap HN by 14113 on Monday December 23, 2013 @12:44PM (#6955452)
Just from the first paragraph, I genuinely thought it was a parody of your typical startup "We're building X, but for Y market" newspeak.