I've been a commenter on HN, but this is my first submission to get any traction at all. I thought it was self explanatory, had a descriptive title (keyword: innovation), and gave a few links at the bottom for those that want more than pretty pictures (try videos).
You know, I like websites to be clearer as well, I can't stand products that don't show me what it is and how it looks (screenshots). But I thought this was pretty straightforward:
It's a boat powered by a kite (see big pictures). It's existing tech applied in new ways, but still requiring lots of innovation, prototyping, and testing (notice the experimental nature of the craft). It's on HN because I like sailing, the Bay Area, and people developing innovative things. I am not affiliated in any way with the people or the website.
Do you write a comment like this for every submission on HN?
As a techie and HN user, I'm interested in technology and websites, and one thing I want is for websites to appropriately convey their messages. This one simply doesn't convey necessary information to people who don't know what they're looking at. Is that a problem? Not necessarily. It depends on the audience.
Also note that at the end I offered a solution to the problems I mentioned. If I were grumpy and a jerk, I would have simply complained. It just so happens that I'm trying to help.
Thanks for the downvotes though! Carry on.
You may not be grumpy, but having many short questions with a sarcastic tone ("cute") or negative slant comes across very aggressively. I realize the website may not provide all the answers to someone who has no knowledge of the domain (sailing), but I think it provided enough visuals and information for someone approaching it with an inquisitive mind.
Is Kiteboat a company that sells... kite.. boats?
Or is it a technology?
Why is on HN?
Is a kiteboat a boat that's sailed by kite? or is it just a cute name?
Are you selling something or just showing off your cool boats?
What's the goal?
Why am I looking at your site?
Who are you?
What's the Log In link for?
What would I be logging in to do?
I get none of that from the main page, and none of the links in Navigate look anything like "About" or "FAQ" or "Who We Are" or "What is Kiteboat?". All I see are videos (which I rarely watch for various reasons, but even so, few look like they explain what the Kiteboat Project is), News (why should I care if I don't know what Kiteboat is?), Advantages (compared to what?), Tests (???)..
I wound up clicking around and got answers to some of those questions, but for someone who just lands on your homepage, that's a lot of work to expect them to do. Ideally, you would have something front and center that says "Kiteboat: A Better Way to Sail" and then a button that says "Find Out More" or something. Because otherwise I'm either just gonna navigate away, or start clicking random links til I find something that explains WTF I'm looking at.