[olivierlacan]

This is why changelogs and release notes are not optional or tucked away in a dark corner. And users who request features need to be notified (actively, specifically) that something they requested or a bug they hit was resolved or addressed.

I know, that's a lot of work. But what's the point of fixing things if you never tell someone it's fixed.

[rkagerer]

That's great advice, but it's untrue that nobody reads changelogs.

I read them religiously for software I'm passionate about as a user, and when I solo'd a product for a decade I was regularly surprised how familiar some of my customers were with mine (most often when they had dedicated IT resources or were similarly small boutique outfits themselves). I've also managed large, custom enterprise projects where subject matter experts on the other end relied on them (in addition to other channels of communication).

What drives me nuts is how some companies decided to water them down. e.g. Windows Update's long list of "security related update" where you have to google KB's to find out what they are, and another company that just always puts in "various fixes and improvements".

[amatecha]

I've started collecting screenshots of app updates that are simply "bug fixes and performance improvements" because it's such a joke at this point. What bugs? How much performance improvement? Did you also nuke one of my favorite features while you were at it, or require other actions of me that I wasn't intending to perform? Who knows? Guess I'll roll the dice once again...

[pull_my_finger]

When I read release notes like that I immediately assume malice. I don't believe that the information is not available or that the devs are too lazy to bullet point _at least_ the major changes or vulnerabilities fixed. I think this is generally an excuse to slip in tracking/etc without resistance.

[gridspy]

Nah, it seems more likely that the mgmt. saw the list of bugs and said "don't admit to those!" and the performance improvements ... " Don't say we used to use a stupid O(n^3) algorithm!

[golergka]

From my experience, it's probably tens of bugs where each of them happened to less than 0.01% of customers, and requires a overly detailed explanation for anyone who didn't have first-hand experience with it.

[adminscoffee]

yeah, it looks like windows is the virus

[notatoad]

changelogs and release notes don't get read. unless you're sending personal emails to the users who requested the feature, the experience in the essay here is the only way: make it automatic or turned on by default.

and if it's not good enough to be automatic or enabled by default, then keep iterating until it is.

[TheOtherHobbes]

Changelogs are for developers, not users.

They're a bad way to communicate specifics because they're literally a long list of changes, most of which are boring/irrelevant to most people.

If you're releasing new features you need more ceremony. Maybe an email with targeted specifics, or at least a section on your website which highlights big important new features.

[dehrmann]

I wish software did something more like video games. Well-designed video games will notice that there's a skill you're not using when you should be and show hints on-screen about using it, e.g. press L1 to change weapons, R2 to take cover.

[kzzzznot]

I’m not so sure. It’s mildly irritating getting numerous pop ups of “hey, look over here at this thing we added” even when permanently dismissible. Tracking a user and letting them know that we know they haven’t ever used feature X is likely to just give them the creeps. In video games you are in “play” mode, and very aware you’re being tracked, judged, awarded points etc. In software that’s often less clear and (from certain behemoths) deliberately so. You’re also likely trying to achieve a task, rather than have fun. I personally would find it irritating if not downright invasive if I hadn’t explicitly agreed to something clearer and more explicit than a cookie warning.

[jamesfinlayson]

We've sent release notes our for a while but no one ever read them. Now we do showcases of the feature so people have no choice but to see what new features are coming.