this is actually the lifetime struggle of a backend engineer. it's easy to just slap on lipstick onto a poorly designed engine, but its not going to make it perform better. maybe new bells and whistles every then keeps users happy, but it's not going to ever change the game unless you throw out your original prototype and build it right.
this is what I've done with nostrdb and notedeck, and I've designed it in a way so that I can backport it into iOS. it just took a year or so to build a database from scratch and prove out the new model/prototype. feels a bit like building a game engine from scratch... lots of upfront work but it will be so worth it.
It will be the foundation for every damus client going into the future. I feel much more confidant building on top of this new tech than the original iOS prototype.
I didn't really know what I was doing when I made Damus. damus is one of the oldest clients in active use, and has accumulated lots of cruft. It doesn't even work in the outbox model. The new local relay model makes the outbox model possible in damus, which has been damus' biggest criticism.
but yeah, sometimes its hard to explain all this, so I'm ok with people saying I suck in the meantime. it's probably too hard to communicate why I'm doing what I'm doing, but I'll keep trying!
As a backend engineer in the corporate world, I feel this so much. It's so hard to sell to corporate people (non-engineers) stuff that could improve the codebase and thus both efficiency and maintenance cost over a longer time period. I've said it many times before and I'll say it again Will, keep pushing like you've always done. It's easy to notice the hate but try to also notice all the positive feedback you get, because I see alot of it.
Nostr is only 3 years old - people expecting facebook/twitter like experience so soon are dreaming😆
I'm sorry but I for one demand that a brand new protocol have the same user experience as is offered by the largest and most powerful companies in the world.
doing things properly makes all the difference in the long run
even if it seems like the deadline is breathing down your neck every day, every shortcut tends to give you more delays and more bugs, when doing it right would have seemed longer at first but builds momentum
nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzqvhpsfmr23gwhv795lgjc8uw0v44z3pe4sg2vlh08k0an3wx3cj9qqs8cp09j4d2ta9p0yjag9d7n09f3gs7tja6rdcjqueu39g6d5nlt8g4qfd4d
I had a very similar realization yesterday of this exact thing as a prior shortcut came back to bite my ass and basically doubled the work I could have originally done 👀
nice essay bro
the first paragraphs were good
what you are doing is very appreciated and I have so much hype to try it 💜
@Compromised
There is not a single iOS full time dev, although iOS damus is fortunate to have a most time dev, and a couple intermittent part time devs. PT devs have serious full time jobs elsewhere.
One of the reasons @jb55 is tackling non-iOS is that apple throws cold water on any boundary pushing tech (e.g. zaps). There is a ton more to be done to bring freedom money to millions, and relying on how the appstore bureaucrats are feeling on the day of the damus review is foolish based on their 💩 treatment of damus devs (they cant even grant basic functionality outside zaps, and provide no explanation).
When team says we hear all the feedback - we do, and we know it painfully well. The reality of limited resources is that we must prioritize, as we dont have a VC funded full time team of half a dozen to a dozen devs.
iOS will have to brace for the full nostrdb update as well. This means performance/under the hood upgrades at the cost of everything else to be worked on.
Congratulations for Damus. I use it every day. Hugs from Brazil 🇧🇷.
Throwing out the original prototype is such a hard must.
Especially if it works.
Keep it up! I appreciate it.
you suck in the meantime. as an android user, I've always been jealous
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