I clicked through all the way, the last step being pretty much: "get a server now".<p>I was met with this:<p><i>Got it. What happens next?
We currently develop and test the Minerva Fabric with a very limited set of friends & specialists.<p>Once we feel confident in the current iteration, we'll make new servers available on a rolling basis. Rest assured that you'll be among the first who can reclaim their privacy.</i><p>MVP and all, I get that. But why are you submitting it to HN when there's nothing there?<p>It's not done. This is just an email form to collect interest. This dilutes the value of "Show HN" posts.
It says it's built on Mailpile[1,2], but Mailpile says on it's own github project page that it is "still experimental and isn't very useful yet."[3]<p>Slightly confused how this can then be something to charge for at this time if it's UI is built atop something that is self-professed experimental and not useful.<p>But pricing is there, and there's nothing in the language to indicate I can't jump on this ship right now, including a <i>Download for free</i> option.<p>Click <i>Configure $39</i> button. Okay, asking for email address & where I'd like to have Minerva setup. Hong Kong sounds fun. And I want to use my own domain. But wait. <i>Request server</i>? Odd word choice for proceeding with configuration.<p>Let's backup a step and click download instead. Wanna check out the code and whatnot so I can see what all is going on that I'd have to support if I do it myself--and I sometimes like doing it myself for certain things. Trusting a third-party for email security & privacy has, let's say, taken a big hit recently.<p>Click <i>Download for free</i> and ... there's no actual download. It's an email signup form to request a server. Odd wording for a free download, isn't it? <i>Request a server</i>? I can't really request a server to download. I'm supposed to be doing setup myself, so I need software, right?<p>Decided to drop an email address in anyway to 'request a server' for the configure-your-own option, and it appears it's an invite list--with no prior copy indicating it was an invite-only thing.<p>Not exactly a good approach here, Minerva.<p>[1]: <a href="http://cl.ly/image/030u0i200a1N" rel="nofollow">http://cl.ly/image/030u0i200a1N</a><p>[2]: <a href="http://mailpile.is" rel="nofollow">http://mailpile.is</a><p>[3]: <a href="https://github.com/pagekite/Mailpile#welcome-to-mailpile" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/pagekite/Mailpile#welcome-to-mailpile</a>
A one-sentence pitch isn't enough to get me to click a button which looks and feels like taking an action. I'd rather see at least a short paragraph go into a bit more detail, first.<p>As it is, the homepage is basically a splash screen. That might even be okay, but making the only interaction a button that implies it takes an action makes me feel like I need to make a yes/no decision on your product before I even have a good feeling for what it is.
Unless I misread entirely, your price is $39/mo. That's just not happening for personal email. I value my time, but I already have a vps and you're charging $500/year. And I'm even willing to pay for email; I already pay $2.50/mo via tuffmail.