[jolux]

> We need something in-between. Something that maybe defaults to always being on the latest version, but when the user wants, allows them to use an older version. Just like native applications (mostly) do.

But there's no fundamental reason web apps can't do this. Basecamp still offers Basecamp 2 to existing customers. It's just that most companies don't want to go to the trouble of stabilizing their internal API (or keeping the old version around for ever), and so far the market hasn't penalized them for it. As native apps develop more connected capabilities, older versions of them will start to succumb to bitrot as well.

[smoldesu]

Not to get "stereotypically HN" on you here, but this is one of those things that the majority of package managers on Linux have figured out. Having multiple versions of the same package is a pretty huge requirement for anything that wants to masquerade as a server OS, which is why most package managers will let you downgrade and pin packages to versions that you want for whatever reason. Of course, this comes with it's own caviats; pinning system packages can really mess up your OS, and of course there are some Electron apps that enforce minimum client versions.

For those most part though, it's a good solution. As long as people know not to downgrade/pin packages they aren't sure of, it's a good-enough fix for the majority of use-cases. You could even idiot-proof it by hiding certain software, that's neither here nor there.

[jolux]

It's not at all obvious to me how Linux package managers have figured out the problem of versioning web apps. They've figured out the problem of versioning Linux packages, and I applaud them for that. They certainly work better than any Mac package manager.

[smoldesu]

I thought we were more talking about Electron apps than Web apps, but you're right on that front.