[eyelidlessness]

I very seldom share anything of my own here for this reason. It’s cool to have high expectations but it’s really a shame how much people just dump on everything without any consideration for the intent or level of effort that went into something.

It’s disheartening. I have a project I’ve just launched that I’m incredibly proud of, with all the warts a just launched thing might have, and I’ve barely mentioned it here and certainly won’t Show HN because I would be heartbroken to see it trashed by a bunch of strangers.

[ALittleLight]

I think the negative comments are inversely proportional to the language used to hype the product or project. If you make an app that points out carcinogens in the user's grocery list, and explain that your project's mission is curing cancer then people are going to have a lot of negative things to say about how this approach will never do that, etc. Conversely, if you describe it tightly as what it is there will be less room for people to have negative takes and more for people to appreciate the project for what it is.

I encourage you to share your project. Negative comments, even if they happen, won't diminish your accomplishments.

[fermienrico]

Why are negative comments bad? I wouldn’t mind at all. Rudeness is not acceptable but people poking holes at your project is a good thing. People poked holes at Dropbox back in the day. Just take negative comments, grow a thick skin and move on. Please don’t hesitate one iota, would love to see your work.

The thing is, HN is a pretty safe place to test and get early feedback. Are the comments tell you it sucks? Hey, they cared enough to say it sucks, so incorporate their feedback and try again.

Most people who are negative here have high expectations or are clueless. Ignore if they are the latter kind!

[hermitcrab]

I agree totally. And, as a one-man-band indie developer who is totally dependent on sales of my software to make a living, the pain of low sales is much greater than the pain of any criticsm. Also a lot of the comments have been incredibly useful, even if they were a bit painful.

[hermitcrab]

Trying selling software commercially online for a few years. Your skin will soon thicken up a bit. ;0)