eappleby (u/eappleby)

eappleby commented on Never buy a .online domain 0xsid.com/blog/online-tld... · Posted by u/ssiddharth

NikolaNovak · 20 days ago

My understanding from the article is that because the registrar for this domain is using Google safe browsing for their domain suspension, something that a) shouldn't be the case and b) isn't the case for other, perhaps more mainstream TLDs

eappleby · 20 days ago

Right. Sounds more like a registrar problem than a TLD problem. They should change the article title to "Never buy a domain from Radix"

eappleby commented on Never buy a .online domain 0xsid.com/blog/online-tld... · Posted by u/ssiddharth

eappleby · 20 days ago

Unfortunate story. It wasn't clear to me that the .online TLD led to Google blacklisting the site. Why did you think that was connected?

eappleby commented on Poll: How often do you bathe? · Posted by u/surprisetalk

eappleby · 10 months ago

Surprised to so many people showering more than once per day. For people that do that, is that due to morning showers coupled with post-activity shower?

eappleby commented on Gumroad's Interestingly Timed "Open-Source" Play tedium.co/2025/04/06/gumr... · Posted by u/pier25

nickjj · a year ago

I know nothing about Gumroad's story or the CEO or any drama around it but I will say this.

I had someone once give me an affiliate link for Gumroad and I got credited a sale.

Gumroad wouldn't let me accept payment for it in a way that was reasonable for $17.

It first asked me for basic information like my name. Then it asked me for my address. Then it asked me for the last 4 of my social security number. Then it asked me for my full social security number along with uploading my driver's license or passport. All through out this process is was slowly collecting my personal information 1 form at a time and it was positioned where it didn't seem like it ever needed more than the single piece of info it asked for. Every time I submit 1 piece of information it said it failed to verify my account but never said why then asked for more.

I asked them for documentation or compliance reports on how my data was going to be stored and they ignored my support request.

I waited over 2 weeks for a response while asking following ups and got no reply. I stopped providing information after the last 4 of my social.

I decided to take a shot and emailed the CEO. In a few hours he personally Zelle'd me the amount with no questions asked and adjusted my account on Gumroad to reflect that. I don't know what to make of this, but it was disappointing I had to email the CEO to get $17 but he was very reasonable about it.

eappleby · a year ago

I believe Gumroad uses Stripe to process payments, so I'd guess this entire validation process is coming from Stripe. When the CEO paid you via Zelle, he probably just wanted to help you out with the hope that you would continue using Gumroad and have a positive experience with the company. I wouldn't look at any of this as a negative reflection of the company. (I've personally never used Gumroad, so this opinion is only based on your comment and my experience with Stripe)

eappleby commented on Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business readingraphics.com/book-s... · Posted by u/teleforce

eappleby · a year ago

I'm on year 13 of running businesses of one (I built an audience development platform and an educational/fundraising platform, plus a handful of smaller ones). On the plus side, I'd say that it has been pretty easy to maintain margins and keep cost under control. It's also easy to stay under the radar of larger competitors. On the downside, I think acquisitions would have been easier if I had a team in place and higher revenue, even with lower operating margins. Last year, my revenue fell a bit and I've considered looking for a more traditional job, but it has been harder than I expected because I believe my experience may not fit a traditional job description. Still, if you can swing it, I would very much recommend it, but good to consider the downsides as well.

eappleby commented on GM exits robotaxi market, will bring Cruise operations in house cnbc.com/2024/12/10/gm-ha... · Posted by u/atomic128

eappleby · a year ago

GM stock up 2.5% since the announcement, so it doesn't look like investors attributed that much of GM's future value to Cruise (or that shutting down the robotaxi development was already assumed)

eappleby commented on Tip pressure might work in the moment, but customers are less likely to return theconversation.com/tip-p... · Posted by u/gnabgib

the_snooze · a year ago

>This makes for an uncomfortable situation where I now have to ask the waiter or bartender if they receive this as a tip.

I don't even ask. If it looks like a tip and is computed like a tip, it is one. How the owners and workers hash out their payment structure is none of my business as a customer.

eappleby · a year ago

I spoke with a restaurant owner who explained to me the purpose of the "service fees" that may look like tips, but don't actually go to the waiters. The reason they do that is that some restaurants want to pay their non-wait staff more, without also needing to increase the pay for their wait staff. Since the "service fees" aren't included when calculating the tips, this allows restaurants to direct those extra funds exactly where they need without unnecessarily inflating the overall cost of the meal.

I 100% agree that tips should be abolished and consumers should pay a clear and fixed price for goods and services, but if you accept that that is not an option, then "service fees" actually make sense. That being said, I can understand the ire that they may cause the wait staff, since many consumers may think those "service fees" are tips, and as a result, may not receive anything for their work. No great solutions here

eappleby commented on Ask HN: Founders, what was the major sourcing channel for your first 100 users? · Posted by u/jainvivek

eappleby · a year ago

First 5-10 clients was emails to friends of friends.

Next 50-100 was cold emails.

After that, mostly word-of-mouth.

Target audience was publishers (audience development/growth)

eappleby commented on Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (August 2024) · Posted by u/david927

eappleby · 2 years ago

I’m building a platform that helps elementary and middle schools raise money. Students answer as many math problems as they can over a week or two and ask friends and family to support them by making a donation to their school. The math problems are dynamite created and generally follow the math curriculum that most schools follow. https://www.forourschool.org

eappleby commented on Ask HN: If you can't find a job(in tech), why not create one · Posted by u/jerawaj749

Vitamin_Sushi · 2 years ago

Not sure what "tech" would constitute here. I've never ran a company before, but I would assume creating a company has a massive barrier to entry compared to working in tech. There are employees, legal, payroll, HR, and other such hurdles before you can even think about starting a tech company, not to mention the personal toll it'll take.

eappleby · 2 years ago

You don't need employees to start a company