The title should probably be "Don't just build things, make things a little more convenient for people". Yplan is your example. Really? That is tremendously disappointing.<p>Is it possible that we can aspire to create better things than that? Can we bring food and shelter to those who don't have it? Can we bring counseling to the those who need it? Can we support and create real face to face local community? In other words can we take our gifts and the tremendous leverage that software and technology provides and actually help people? Can we fly in the face the current economic incentives and actually help people?<p>Otherwise we are just creating things that may be popular/successful in the the short term but die in the long term because they have no "real" value. And we as producers suffer under the truth denying myth that we are doing something of value when we actually know that we are just trying to cash in on a tiny worthless market wrinkle. We might as well be playing the stock market.
<i>Build it and they will come? No, ask them if they would use it — in fact ask them if they would buy it right now and for what price — then build it.</i><p>Any talk is cheap. Charge them for it as a pre-sale to really lock this down. Give them a reasonable discount if they prepay during the development period, of course, and refund everything if you can't deliver as promised for any reason.
Animals are deserving of help and need voices in their defense as well. Even house pets aren't safe.<p>I just submitted <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6307569" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6307569</a> but I don't think it's going to make front page.<p>Direct link: <a href="http://opensuffer.com/" rel="nofollow">http://opensuffer.com/</a><p>EDIT: Sorry for piggybacking on the post. Important cause though.