The Property Industry Is Falling Out of Love with WeWork - <AUTHOR> https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-19/wework-keeps-pushing-now-landlords-rivals-are-pushing-back <comment><USER3> I absolutely hate WeWork. Due to the nature of our work we have to meet with people there in various locations, the security on-site is laughable but at the same time they make you jump through all kinds of hoops such as photographing you face-first on entry, easily defeated by blocking the camera.

The facilities are noisy, distracting, totally unusable to discuss anything that is even remotely confidential and there is a reasonably high amount of theft by walk-ins that make off with people's laptops or phones.

The sooner they bugger off the better.

<comment><USER4> Strong agree. My current company was in one for a few months before we got our own space, and it was one of the most miserable office experiences I've ever encountered. Almost everything about it sucked-

* Their network was grossly misconfigured and directed traffic to the least used access point, regardless of the distance. It was a regular morning ritual for people in my office to toggle their wifi on and off repeatedly until they got a usable connection.

* Network security is also a joke- they have a simple WPA2 shared password that never changes, can easily be brute forced, and is the same at all locations. They do have a proper WPA2 Enterprise setup for their employees, which means the issue isn't their equipment and that they understand the difference between the two.

* They basically have no rules about noise. Their contract refers to the local "communities" rules, but when I asked for them I was told they didn't have any. So when there was bad behavior (which there was plenty of) there was no recourse.

* It was the noisiest office space I've ever worked in. The glass dividers between rooms and open ventilation systems meant there was no insulation from noise at all- and tenants didn't seem to care about letting their entire floor know their business.

* There were only two or three phone rooms per floor, and it was always a fight to get them. People would try and reserve them by leaving their stuff in them before a call, which just amounted to all sorts of drama. Since there weren't enough to go around people would just talk in their offices adding to the noise.

* Allowing dogs is great, but there need to be some rules. One of our neighbors just let his dog walk around the whole floor, so we had to be super careful about what we left in the trash in our unit. He would also leave his dog locked up in his unit while he was getting lunch, and the dog would bark the whole time. People would also have their dogs race from one side of the building to the other. Since none of this was against the rules there was nothing to do about it other than move out.

<comment><USER5> My experience matches.

The lazy jerks running 6th and Market let one of the two elevators sit broken for _months_. Free 20 minute break mid-day to get downstairs and again to get back upstairs! Who doesn't want takeout to take over an hour every day! The wework folks renting 6 floors just acted like there was nothing at all they could do to get the building to have sufficient working elevators.

And the noise. Hard wood floors. No carpets. Glass walls. One woman wearing heels goes clack-clack-clack up and down the hall.

Bathrooms with no vent fans.

Running a remodel of the floor above us while we were supposed to be working in the office. So much noise you could feel the vibrations.

Same fight for phone rooms.

It was utterly awful. But hey, free beer!

We moved out when employees threatened to quit.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Uh oh, another overpriced company funded by Softbank. Softbank, remember, is funded by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. They're also behind Uber. They seem to be the world's largest source of dumb money.

I wonder what the big customer lease deals with WeWork look like. They probably don't get the markup they do with little tenants.

<comment><USER7> As the recession deepens, WeWork will surely eventually implode. I can see it now: vast swathes of empty commercial real estate. If you thought ghost malls were bad, wait until you see ghost WeWorks.

<comment><USER8> > As the recession deepens

 _Deepens_? We're not in a recession, and we haven't been for nearly a decade.

It's true that, by historical standards, we're arguably _overdue_ for a recession, but the word "recession" is precisely defined, and the US unambiguously does not meet the criteria for being in one.

<comment><USER9> >Deepens? We're not in a recession, and we haven't been for nearly a decade.

There is a non-negligible portion of people who have bought into the political narrative that "stock market volatility = recession". It's political in the sense that "the economy can't possibly be good with the current leadership". Don't waste your breath arguing with it because it's politics, not facts or rationality.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> > WeWork forms a subsidiary to represent each lease deal, which means > individual locations could fold without leaving the company itself with much > risk. The parent company only guarantees the lease for about six to 12 > months on a 15-year agreement, according to documents associated with > WeWork's inaugural bond offering.

So, they sign a 15-year lease but are only on the hook for the first year? How does that work? Sounds more like a year lease with an option to extend?

<comment><USER11> The subsidiary signs the 15-year lease, not WeWork.

So basically if the location turns out to be unprofitable, the subsidiary goes out of business or goes bankrupt and WeWork isn't stuck with the lease.

From the landlord's perspective, yes it is basically equivalent to a year lease with option to extend... not totally clear why the landlord would agree to that.

<comment><USER12> Must be nice to be an immortal corporation that can just spin off any debts you don't want to pay, while mere mortals with finite lifespans and education debt and medical debt and credit card debt cannot unless we die.

<comment><USER13> What if I told you that you can create and own corporations too?

<comment><USER14> Your comment seems disingenuous. What if I told you that piercing the corporate veil is regular and common when a single member LLC can't pay its debt, and an LLC isn't eligible for things humans need to improve their futures like student loans anyway?

<comment><USER15> Fantasy stories intrigue us mortals. But we do see big companies or llcs dodge responsibility.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> "Brokerage CBRE Group Inc. in October launched a business called Hana that will help landlords create their own flexible offices. Owners want to be a part of the rising demand for that type of space, said Andrew Kupiec, Hana's CEO."

Good luck trying to create a nice product with a federation of people with zero product experience. You'll be training them / fighting the same battles over and over. And just wait until they bring in their family members who have great ideas.

<comment><USER17> What's WeWork's "product" again? Exposed brick and free beer? Seems like the only roadblock to successful emulation here is money and property — both of which CBRE has. You can hire someone for the interior design. They already split off a new brand with a fun, easy name.

<comment><USER18> WeWork's product is handling landlord and broker negotiations for you. They are giving more power to the tenant as WeWork is large enough that they often carry significantly more leverage into a negotiation.

<comment><USER19> WeWork has leverage that they convert into _a lot_ of arbitrage. I'm not so convinced of the value there.

<comment><USER20> Businesses love to throw money at a problem so it Just Works and they don't have to think about it. This shouldn't be surprising: a large percentage of the enterprise software industry, including most cloud computing, runs on this tendency. WeWork is just extending this idea into the realm of physical office space.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER21> The existing commercial office space system seems very inefficient for small to medium-sized companies. You lease space, spend a ton renovating it to look "on-brand," then move a couple of years later. The next tenant renovates the space again to match their brand.

Each remodel comes out of a "tenant improvement budget" given by the landlord, but that has to be recouped in rent over the duration of the lease, so it's not really free money to the tenant.

Having offices that have already been remodeled to be nice enough, and just being able to lease a flexible number of desks could deliver huge savings - <USER2> time and cost to growing companies.

<comment> munk-a > spend a ton renovating it to look "on-brand,"

Wait, why? If you're a small-medium sized company that isn't in retail (or some other business where you, as a matter of course, service customers on premises) why would you divert a significant amount of money to renovations that match your brand?

If you need to meet with investors or potential employees and are that concerned about appearances then just do it offsite.

<comment><USER22> Every small company I've every worked for has renovated their new space.

Often, when the old tenants leave, the space is beat-up and unpresentable. Relative to the aggregate cost of rent over a couple of years, spending $10-20K to buff it out, put some walls in for meeting rooms and offices, etc... isn't a problematic spend.

<comment><USER23> I think there's a difference between "New carpet, new paint" and other refurbishments like that, and "spend a ton to look 'on brand'."

<comment><USER24> Depends what class of building you're renting in. A Class B building might tidy up the place, but if you're springing for a Class A building, prestige is what you're buying into.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER25> I was talking to a friend the other day who told me about multiple recent grads from their PhD program joining tech companies that were willing to pay for a shared work space office for remote employees. One said it was significantly cheaper to expand their team with remote employees and offer to pay for WeWork spaces than to expand the physical office space they already had (new hires got to choose what they wanted to do).

<comment><USER26> It's definitely a business model that fills a niche. And it clearly offers value. The problem is that when the economy tanks these sort of arrangements will be the first to go as the tech companies trim expenses and either relocate the employees, fire them, or force them to work from home. It seems at this point that WW has a great offering when everyone has money, but the second the economy turns they are going to be the ones holding the proverbial bag.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> Their business model reminds me of MoviePass in the sense that it appears unsustainable, and that their main plan is to grow fast until they have market power to throw around. At least the math for WeWork isn't so obviously flawed as Moviepass was. I'm just disappointed at how many companies use this playbook in the startup world. Everyone just does stupid crap in hopes of becoming the "dominant platform", at which point they can charge whatever they want and people will have to play along.

<comment><USER28> Or, think about it in a more positive way - companies like WeWork take money from investors, and pass it on to consumers, via subsidised pricing. I'm very happy to have cheaper office space, if only for a few years, until VC money dries up (although I have no idea if that is actually the case with WeWork).

</comment></comment><comment><USER29> I was using space at a WeWork like company. This company was leasing office space from a building managed by CBRE. If you have any familiarity with CBRE, then you know that a shared office environment is totally against everything CBRE does. I do not know how long this particular shared office was there, but it recently closed back in October because of friction with CBRE.

I don't think the shared office space concept is a bad one, but landlords/building management companies will fight it for a long time. I'd imagine it to be an easier time for the shared office space companies to buy a building rather than trying to release a leased space.

<comment><USER30> _If you have any familiarity with CBRE, then you know that a shared office environment is totally against everything CBRE does_

CBRE Launches New Coworking Brand, Hana: [https://allwork.space/2018/11/cbre- launches-new-coworking-br...](https://allwork.space/2018/11/cbre-launches-new- coworking-brand-hana/)

<comment><USER31> How does this fit with [https://www.hanahaus.com](https://www.hanahaus.com) which already exists?

(note: I've never used Hana though I walked through the one in Palo Alto just out of curiosity, and it simply looked like a random co working space).

<comment><USER32> HANA Haus is named after SAP's database product HANA. It's more of a coffee get together than a co-working space (unless they've deliberately changed it since I've last been there).

<comment><USER33> Actually its mainly a coworking space with a blue bottle in the building as well. I got open seating just $3 an hour. Has louder areas or you can reserve quieter spaces/meeting rooms.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> Unicorn playbook:

1\. Jump on hot tech trend threatening to disrupt industry

2\. pay way too much for customers

3\. get lots of VC money and use VC money to pay way too much for more customers

4\. grow gargantuan

5\. transform into basically every other non-tech big player in the industry because zero marginal cost only works in few industries

<comment><USER35> You forgot the part about disregarding laws/regulations and trying to grow fast enough so that by the time the regulators start to apply pressure you have enough money and clout to fight back, all while preventing the smaller guys from doing the same thing you did.

Not saying that WeWork is doing that, but it's definitely a time-honored Silicon Valley approach. Just look at the recent faux pas from Robinhood with their "checking & savings" accounts that got them bitch slapped nearly instantaneously by regulators, forcing Robinhood to withdraw the announcement and update it to a "cash management" account with details to follow.

Same for companies like Amazon. Grow super fast and ignore tax laws regarding nexus so you don't pay sales tax. And run a massive loss for years on end until you can figure out how to subsidize your losses through another profitable venture which you hope to achieve. They did with their AWS/cloud business and that makes the company _as a whole_ barely profitable. But subsidizing your massive retail business losses with your high cloud margins is supposedly illegal. Number of regulators anywhere to be found? Zero. And don't forget to have an advantage against all the third party sellers because you can undercut them since you also sell millions of products and don't face the platform/marketplace fees, equating to illegal competition. Must be nice to be a big player.

<comment><USER36> Amazon was not unprofitable. They just constantly reinvested their profits back into their company instead of hording cash.

<comment><USER22> This misconception, or common statement, will never go away. You'll have occasion to post this sentence forever.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER37> At the end of the day WeWork is essentially a middle man. If the model catches on landlords can make WeWork irrelevant by just adapting and offering "WeWork" style coworking space thus it's not clear what the end game of all this is. If it fails it fails. If it succeeds it's super easy to copy and cut them out of the equation.

WeWork as a company is also becoming increasingly unfocused. They're getting into everything from schools, daycare and all sorts of other stuff. That's never a good sign. Do one thing and do it really well profitably. Anyone can do a lot of cool stuff while burning investor cash like crazy.

<comment><USER38> I don't agree that landlords can easily replicate WeWork. First of all WeWork has an incredible brand, and great processes/assets that let them run co- working spaces more profitably.

Amazon seems like a counter point to your focus point too.

<comment><USER39> Do they? What exactly does WeWork offer that a landlord couldn't easily replicate? Amazon at least has the crazy logistics network.

To me, WeWork sounds more like a Moviepass type situation.

<comment><USER38> I think you're drastically underestimating how hard it is to start a co- working space. Why would anyone want to work at your unheard of space instead of WeWork? How are you possibly going to attract people at even half their prices?

<comment><USER40> Why would anyone want to work at WeWork at twice the price?

<comment><USER38> Network of people working there, perks, quality, brand. Why do people do anything for twice the price?

<comment><USER37> People just want a nice place to work at a decent price. There is no brand loyalty in this space. If someone has a nice product next door people will move. Same as Uber vs Lyft. Nobody cares what logo is on the car.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER41> WeWork and Uber seem to be two examples of companies that "look" successful purely on the basis of enormous amounts of VC subsidization. They lose hundreds of millions each quarter because they're under pricing their service to gain market share.

In order to get more funding rounds and ever-higher valuations, they're promising pie-in-the-sky visions of WeWork daycare and schools, or Uber- powered autonomous truck fleets. And when the water goes out of that tide, they quietly announce very 20th century-sounding initiatives like property brokering and sharing zip scooters and offering food delivery.

</comment><comment><USER31> Learning: don't try to go completely vertical because it increases the number of people who are threatened by you.

</comment><comment><USER42> WeWork is on their way to collapsing. The company is cult like with founders who have a god complex. Softbank and Saudi funding have saved them from collapse.

<comment><USER43> When I was running a coworking space in Berlin back in the day WeWork were just getting started. I went to NYC on a holiday and decided to contact all the coworking spaces for networking purposes. Miguel McKelvey one of 2 cofounders of WeWork was the only person to get back to me. I found him exceptionally humble and approachable. Not sure where you got your impressions on the founders from?

<comment><USER26> Probably from this article that made the rounds a few months ago: [https://www.propertyweek.com/insight/the-cult-of- wework/5098...](https://www.propertyweek.com/insight/the-cult-of- wework/5098454.article)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER44> "Sharing economy" with local temporary monopolies and the intermediaries giving everyone the short stick while aggresively reinvesting the transaction money they keep hostage. Can we get over it already? I WANT TO OWN.</comment>


Amazon lowers high memory double and quadruple XL instance prices - <AUTHOR> http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/?ref_=pe_12300_16748480#pricing <comment><USER2> Kudos to Amazon for continually following through on their promise of passing savings on to their users.</comment>


Statistical Computing for Scientists and Engineers - <AUTHOR> https://www.zabaras.com/statisticalcomputing <comment><USER2> I've got this one and a few others on a Github repo:

[https://github.com/melling/MathAndScienceNotes/tree/master/s...](https://github.com/melling/MathAndScienceNotes/tree/master/statistics)

I haven't listened to the Notre Dame course yet. How would others rate it?

I have gone through the UC Berkeley Irvine 131a class. I have high-level notes:

[https://github.com/melling/MathAndScienceNotes/blob/master/s...](https://github.com/melling/MathAndScienceNotes/blob/master/statistics/uc_irvine_131a/2013_stats_131A_uc_irvine.md)

and detailed notes in PDF for the first four classes;

[https://github.com/melling/MathAndScienceNotes/blob/master/s...](https://github.com/melling/MathAndScienceNotes/blob/master/statistics/uc_irvine_131a/stats_131a_lecture_01.pdf)

Actually, wrote this up in a blog yesterday:

[https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2017/12/30/learning- probability...](https://h4labs.wordpress.com/2017/12/30/learning-probability- and-statistics/)

<comment><USER3> Thank you so much for sharing this!!!

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> This lecture course appears to attempt to cover way, way too much material in each lecture.

<comment><USER5> The professor himself probably agrees with you. In lecture 18 the professor states

At 3:40 - For this topic he actually has has 6 or 7 lectures, 100 pages of notes. But it's compressed to an introduction.

At 7:10 - He states HMM is 2-3 lectures, but he's going to compress it to half a lecture.

Honestly, I had courses like this in grad school. The were typically seminars and usually graded on a curve because people crammed stuff into their brains as quickly as possible and barely understood anything! They were meant to give you a broad coverage of a field, not comprehensively cover any particular set of topics.

<comment><USER6> Cryptography in undergrad was a course like that at my school. Here is the most basic understanding of group theory we can possibly get away with, here is how it applies to RSA. Next lecture now we're moving on to elliptical curves....

Perhaps some topics are simply too big to really teach effectively through lectures. You need to go digging on your own to understand all the myriad details, and put in the hours alone with a textbook.

<comment><USER7> The point of those lectures, especially in undergrad, is to reduce the "unknown unknowns". You don't know that you could look up how some technique actually works if you haven't ever heard about it. If you want all the details you need good textbooks, or, for more advanced topics, the original papers.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I can never shake off the feeling that statistics is somewhat lacking compared to the rest of "fundamental" sciences. To me it just lacks sort of brutal honesty that is present say in physics. And how come that the math often "looks" scary? To me this also seems intentional, like someone is trying to hide the lack of real content. Honestly, do we really need a whole field to run a curve through a cloud of points? Please, dispute me in comments below, I would really like to be wrong about this.

Edit: Let the down-voting begin

<comment> radford-neal There are some problems with the field of statistics. They may stem partially from its role in "certifying" results in other sciences, which induces a certain conservatism, and a desire by many less scrupulous practitioners to just crank out the result they want, never mind understanding how the method works, or whether it is appropriate. It also hasn't (perhaps until recently) been that "sexy" a field, so it may attract fewer really bright people. Finally, there is a tendency for bright people who come into the field from math to think that statistics is a sub-field of math, when in fact there are philosophical issues of inductive inference that are not just math, and practical skills in data analysis that are not necessarily easy just because you're good at math.

Some particular problems:

1) Scary math and pointlessly obscure terminology are indeed a problem. For unnecessarily scary math, the early literature on Dirichlet process mixture models is a good example - almost like they were designed to be incomprehensible to most people who do actually have enough background to use the results. At a lower level, there are pointlessly obscure and misleading terms like "score function", "coefficient of determination", and worst of all, "standard error of the estimate" for the estimated standard deviation of residuals in a regression model (worst since it is not in fact a "standard error" by the general definition of that term).

2) Introductory statistics is generally taught from a naive "frequentist" perspective, because that's been the tradition for the last century or so. The justifications offered in such courses for using p-values and confidence intervals are not defensible - they just sound plausible if you don't know better. There is no good solution, since more sophisticated frequentist arguments will be beyond the level of the course, and shifting to a Bayesian perspective cuts the students off from the scientific literature with p-values, etc. that they will need to be able to read.

3) Outsiders coming into the field often have strange ideas. You might think that physicists capable of building a billion dollar accelerator would be able to recognize when a statistical method they think of is nonsense, but you'd be wrong. There's a tendency for anyone who learns information theory before statistics to think that information theory is tremendously relevant - but no, rephrasing maximum likelihood or Bayesian methods in information theory terms may sometimes be slightly helpful in thinking about them, but doesn't really add anything fundamental. And no, there's nothing particularly special or interesting about distributions that maximize entropy subject to some (generally arbitrarily selected) constraint.

4) There's a tendency to want more than you can get. There is no one "objectively correct" model/prior/analysis for a data set. Subjective assessments are unavoidable. But a lot of people don't want to accept this fact, and devote great efforts to ways of trying to pretend otherwise.

However, if you think statistics is just a simple matter of running a curve through a cloud of points, you're very wrong. Even running a curve through a could of points is a complicated and subtle enough task that deep issues arise, and these issues become much more obvious if you're trying to fit a function of hundreds of variables rather than just one. And if you're trying to not just "fit" data but come to valid conclusions about cause and effect, or about underlying latent variables that will provide useful information in new contexts, then you really do need to know a lot.

<comment><USER9> _There 's a tendency for anyone who learns information theory before statistics to think that information theory is tremendously relevant - but no, rephrasing maximum likelihood or Bayesian methods in information theory terms may sometimes be slightly helpful in thinking about them, but doesn't really add anything fundamental.

And no, there's nothing particularly special or interesting about distributions that maximize entropy subject to some (generally arbitrarily selected) constraint._

Wow, some two heavyweight opinions there. Care to elaborate?

<comment> radford-neal Some ideas like the Minimum Description Length principle derived from information theory turn out to be just rephrasings of already-known statistical ideas. This can occasionally provide more insight, but also can lead to ridiculously irrelevant things like looking in detail at how one might produce a code for data, rather than just saying the code would have length equal to log2 of the probability of the data, which of course leads to just forgetting about the code altogether and looking at probabilities instead.

The maximum entropy idea is just wrong (in general), in that there is no good argument for doing it. Actually, it's "not even wrong", since maximizing the entropy subject to the observed values of some expectations is just not possible, since we do not observe expectations, but rather particular finite data sets.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Ask HN:Review our new service - <AUTHOR> http://thelifethings.com/ We released a new website, http://thelifethings.com/.  It is a kind of todo list, but not only limits on personal todo list. It uses tags to share things which can be tracked by others.<p>Please give us some comments. Thanks. <comment><USER2> Steve, you might want to describe your site a little more for us and explain what it is you are hoping to do with thelifethings, what you want visitors to experience, what problem you're trying to solve etc. At this point the site looks kind of rough and so I'm not sure if what you were hoping to unveil is what we're actually seeing. In fact it looks very much like a standard template. Good luck.</comment>


If you can't explain what you do in one paragraph, you've got a problem - <AUTHOR> http://venturebeat.com/2012/10/06/youve-got-a-problem/ <comment><USER2> In fairness, I think there's a difference between being too wordy in a description, and not even bothering to try ("My startup is too complex to be described in a paragraph"). The former indicates a lack of discipline, but the latter hints at a sort of naive arrogance.

Both, however, indicate that the founder doesn't fully grasp his own project. That's the bigger issue. If you can't describe an idea clearly and succinctly, you probably haven't mastered the idea in the first place. The selling proposition of an idea shouldn't be an afterthought; it should be baked into the idea itself. After all, great ideas are usually solutions to great problems.

The author makes a good point about not wasting the short time you're given to present something to people who can help you. It's an important point. But to me, it's almost a side issue. It's a symptom of something deeper. If you can't get your head around your own idea, then your idea -- or at least your conception of it -- may have some fundamental problems.

</comment><comment><USER3> Short and sweet is necessary to grab someone's attention. Their time is worth more to them than you are, so boil what you have to say down to essentials. And then figure out what essentials you can leave out to make it even shorter.

Of course this is a horrible way to understand a complex topic. When I was preparing [http://bentilly.blogspot.com/2012/09/ab-testing-vs-mab- algor...](http://bentilly.blogspot.com/2012/09/ab-testing-vs-mab-algorithms- its.html) I was concerned about its length. Patio11 told me, _If that's too much for people they shouldn't be making decisions on this topic anyhow._ He was right.

You MUST be able to boil your pitch down to a tiny seed. But that's just for grabbing people's attention - don't make the mistake of substituting bullet points for thinking when you need to think.

</comment><comment><USER4> A quote: "Entrepreneur: I just wanted to touch base with you and see if you are taking on new startups right now."

"Me: Can you send me a paragraph and I'll tell you if it's something we'd be interested in."

"Entrepreneur: It's difficult to accurately describe the company, myself, and everything else in a single paragraph. To write something so small but somehow include every important aspect is near impossible, if not impossible. My company is too complex to be described in a single paragraph."

A recipe for failure. This touches on multiple issues, the most important of which is an economy of expression.

Anyone can say his project is too complex for mere mortals to grasp, including people who don't have anything worth describing. But as Einstein said, "If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself."

Yesterday I saw an article entitled something like "90 things I learned while launching startups." After I got done laughing, I replied that if the author wanted people to read what he had to say, that was about 80 things too many, that he needed to prioritize, but to put it mildly, this wasn't welcome advice.

<comment><USER5> I think the point that Einstein was making that you should be able to explain it to a 6 year old but not necessarily expect him to understand your explanation. I would love to hear him explain why e=mc^2 to a 6 year old and then quiz the 6 year old.

<comment><USER4> > I think the point that Einstein was making that you should be able to > explain it to a 6 year old but not necessarily expect him to understand your > explanation.

Perhaps, but (a) I don't think so and (b) we'll never know for sure. :)

I'm pretty sure the point he was making is that most scientific ideas are accessible to concise explanation with no loss of comprehension. Of course, he said this before the time of quantum theories, to which he strenuously objected for the remainder of his life.

> I would love to hear him explain why e=mc^2 to a 6 year old and then quiz > the 6 year old.

e = mc^2 is actually pretty easy to explain, if one accepts the premise of energy conservation. But I agree that the read-back from the average six-year- old would at best be mildly entertaining. From a truly bright six-year-old, I would hope to hear something like, "Because all energy has to be somewhere, potential energy makes things heavier."

</comment></comment></comment><comment> Flip-per Wasn't there a news entry some weeks ago where a startup investor made quite contradictory points? That you should keep your eyes open for startups which don't have a clear "message" / punch line? Because these are the ones with the possibly most innovative (but yet not fixed) ideas that are often overlooked by other investors?

</comment><comment><USER6> Mike Lee of Appsterdam, had a talk at at AppsWorld, where he said pretty much the same:

Working at Apple, he had heard the rumors that if you went into an elevator with Steve Jobs, you had to explain what you did and why you were doing it before he left and as such – even though he didn't believe in the rumor – he tried to explain all he did in only 60 seconds.

This is what he answered, when asked for his currently 60-second-speech: "I'm making educational games for kids. […] It's just enough to make you curious and want to have a conversation. […] If your 60 seconds-talk is an attempt to try to cramp as much shit into 60 seconds as you can, you're doing it wrong."

I can only recommend listening to the whole 30-minutes: [http://www.apps- world.net/europe/images/stories/audio/dev-d1...](http://www.apps- world.net/europe/images/stories/audio/dev-d1-1400.mp3)

<comment><USER7> "Because telling you about Appsterdam, it's real simple. If you wanna make apps, come to Appsterdam, it's awesome. You wanna know more about it? Google it. You wanna know why Appsterdam is a thing, what Appsterdam is all about and what kind of insanity leads a person build their own ecosystem before building a company? That's what I'm going to talk about. And I'm going to talk about it honestly. That means there is going to be some swearing. So if that is going to offend you I suggest you just go ahead and ... leave. For the rest of you: It's real simple. -- Do something that actually fucking matters."

The arrogance and self-importance of the speaker made me quit after 60 seconds.

<comment><USER8> _WHAT KIND OF INSANITY?_

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> I also think this applies more broadly.

When I was in university, one of the mandatory classes in engineering was Professional Development, and one of the threads in that was writing. They stressed "Soon enough you'll be communicating with people with not enough time to hear what you have to say. Get to the point." Sage advice.

I have to encourage those I work with not to do it, sometimes by ignoring the long-form or just stating that I don't have time to review something so lengthy. For design docs, sometimes a few well considered diagrams really are worth a thousand words.

<comment><USER10> Honestly that is a stupid argument -- if you don't have time to understand it the first time, you don't have time to come back when everything is falling apart.

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> "...I like three sentences: (1) what we do, (2) who we do it to, and (3) why you should care."

Should (2) be "who we do it for"? Mine goes something like...

1: I teach mathematics 2: I encourage adults who always had problems with school Maths to learn and achieve a qualification 3: Mathematical reasoning is important for sensible decision making both in everyday life and in science and in making political choices

</comment><comment><USER12> Very true, if you cant explian your idea in one paragraph then in many ways you don't understand it yourself.

Like first impressions, the first paragraph in anything counts. With that any article that can't be summed up in a headline is more than one article. This one is spot on, even if it is more than one paragraph and laid out so is easier to digest.

</comment><comment><USER5> i find this attitude troubling on a couple of levels...

so we should not pursue to solve inherently complex problems for fear that we won't be able to explain them within the time frame for an elevator pitch? is ADD really that prevalent?

<comment><USER13> "So we should not pursue to solve inherently complex problems for fear that we won't be able to explain them within the time frame for an elevator pitch? is ADD really that prevalent?"

Unfortunately yes. There aren't many hard and fast rules in the startup world, but I think the closest we've got is that it's always better to sacrifice value for better explainability.

If people can't understand it in a sentence then they aren't going to use it. And if you can get them using it then you can always add more functionality later.

Problems that are inherently too complicated to explain in a sentence or two aren't worth solving, at least not for startups. That's why we have government and non-profits.

That's not to say everyone needs to able to grok every implication right off the bat. For my own startup everyone can understand what I'm working on after a sentence, but no one can understand why it's a good idea without reading another three or four paragraphs. That's fine though, because it will be obvious once it's launched without having to read anything.

<comment><USER14> _Problems that are inherently too complicated to explain in a sentence or two aren't worth solving, at least not for startups._

I think the problem comes in trying to explain something to someone (an investor) without domain knowledge. In order to be succinct, you have to make some assumptions. It's sort of like a mathematical proof. Given a sufficiently complex problem, a shorter proof generally makes more assumptions about the reader's knowledge than a longer one.

Customers will generally understand the problem better, since you are presumably working on one of their pain points. So it's easier to explain a solution to them than to investors who probably don't have those same pain points. It's in an investor's best interest to be more open to longer pitches unless they already understand the domain.

<comment><USER13> Yeah I think this is the best approach. For my one-pager I have a one paragraph explanation, followed by a FAQ. Virtually everyone has the same questions in the same order after hearing the pitch, so it makes it super easy to explain both in person and in writing. I could always rewrite it in a more traditional way, but I think it's actually easiest to read as is.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment> d--b I bet someone will post an article called "If you can't read more than one paragraph to be interested in a project, you've got a problem"

</comment><comment><USER15> "I try to answer all of my emails and be responsive to any inquiry. This was a random one (of which I get between 25 and 100 each day)."

Now I feel so much less special that he responded to my email :(</comment>


Gift HN: Anybody want a subdomain of ww.com? - <AUTHOR>

Hey There, I've been asked for subdomains of ww.com and if I would give them out.
So, one time HN offer, if you want a subdomain of ww.com, you can have one for exactly $0.
The conditions:

  - first come first served

  - subdomains 3 letters or longer (and yes, 'www' is taken ;) )

  - the subdomain is not currently in use by a ww.com user
   (you can see that by going to subdomain.ww.com,
   if it redirects to the homepage then you're good)

  - you have a HN account with 20 karma or more

  - you post your domain name in this thread with the IP to go with it

  - no warez / copyright violations or other nonsense

  - do not harm my business

  - no spam, illegal content or otherwise bad behaviour,
    first 'mistake' or headache for me and you lose
    the subdomain

  - never pretend that you represent ww.com

  - send me an email to confirm this so I can contact you

  - no guarantees, if ww.com gets sold or I have
    a bad hairday you may lose it so don't use
    it for anything critical
 That's not to scare you, I just don't want to make promises that I can't keep in the longer term.
Offer valid for the next 24 hours.
if you liked this check http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1796266 Yan's book gift/exchange posting!
update: I'll make the DNS entries when this thread is 1 day old. <comment><USER2> I'm sorry if this is a total dumbass question:

Why would anyone want this? They would have to trust jacquesm (as well intentioned as he may be) to continue to have awesome intentions forever... and if he/she ever sold the domain, everyone who has setup a subdomain would probably loose all the links they might have built to it.

The only reason I could potentially see this being useful is as a url shortcut... but still, you risk the same situation as when/if a url shortner like bit.ly goes out of business.

When you're building your brand equity, you got to make sure you own the equity that you're building. If you have a domain name, use it. If you don't like it, get a better one.

Maybe I'm just missing something.

<comment><AUTHOR> No question is dumbass.

Most of the concerns you've got were addressed in the text above I believe.

As for me having 'good intentions' or not, time will be the judge of that, but let's just say that I spent a lot of time trying to be useful to HN and it would be a really dumb move to piss of a large portion of what has slowly become my network.

That said I can't offer guarantees hence the caveat.

Second, I think that most people here are more than smart enough to factor that in to their thinking and in to their use of the domain. But for those that do not, please take melvinram's warning to heart. So you've got my upvote.

<comment><USER3> Are you offering this because you will indirectly benefit from the PageRank from subdomains and presumably most HN'ers will have active sites that will experience good PageRank?

<comment><USER4> A fair question, though I like Su's outlook:

Use Occam's Razor in interpersonal relations: look for the simplest, most straightforward explanation that assumes the best of everybody. Stay away from people who always have a conspiracy theory involving twisted office politics, unfulfilled Machiavellian ambitions, and unspoken agendas.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> I don't want any subdomain. Just wanted to say 'thank you' for being so generous.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> _Please read_ :

if you get your name confirmed in this thread please drop me a one liner email with reference to your subdomain so I know who got what and can get in touch with you if I need to.

thanks!

</comment><comment><USER6> Thanks for doing this!

track.ww.com -> www.track.com

Mostly to mess with my non-techy friends...would be particularly funny if you added google.ww.com -> Google and facebook.ww.com -> Facebook to support the lie. "Oh, it doesn't work for your site? Well, it only works for really important websites..."

<comment><AUTHOR> Hehe, google.ww.com and facebook.ww.com should _probably_ be exempted as I can see nothing but trouble coming from that.

Hilarious idea though.

You've got track.ww.com.

<comment><USER6> Thanks, though I just realized it looks like it may already be taken by one of your users - my fault for not checking. Thanks anyway. :)

<comment><AUTHOR> abandoned ages ago, so it's yours, I checked before.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> More of a reader on HN than anything, and if the 20 karma limit is strict then I am asking for upvotes :)

but could you <http://techbio.ww.com> -> <http://techbio.org>?

(The .com is domainered.)

<comment><AUTHOR> You can have it, np, it's free.

<comment><USER7> Thanks! Also to whoever upvoted me. Now for what to do with it.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> I definitely appreciate the gesture, and it seems to be in high demand, but I just can't figure out why I would want one? What's so special about .ww.com?

ps. please don't take this in any way negatively. I'm just puzzled.

<comment><AUTHOR> It's reasonably short.

It also gives you a chance at the name you really wanted to have but couldn't get with a not-too offensive suffix for $0.

If you type sub.ww ctrl-enter you're on the site.

Another reason someone just mailed me: They like their domain but it is hard to spell, a short alias to use over the phone can be handy.

</comment></comment><comment><USER9> If I had more time I'd totally put together a cute cat website and ask for aww.ww.com

<comment><AUTHOR> Want a reservation ?

<comment><USER9> haha, if you're willing! Email is away!

<comment><AUTHOR> ok thanks !

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> Jacques, thanks so much for your generosity. Would it be possible to have matt.ww.com -> <http://users.crhc.illinois.edu/johnso87/> ? Similar circumstances to BoppreH, if I'm reading correctly. matt.ww.com exists, but doesn't look particularly current.

If not, I don't currently have a public IP that I own. Anyone know the cheapest way to get one, other than a static IP from your ISP (I can't get one because mine doesn't give them out)? I'm imagining a small Linode instance or something of that nature, but I'm pretty green. Suggestions welcome. I could also snag a domain name and figure this all out later.

<comment><AUTHOR> matt is fine, again I don't have a solution yet for the IP less redirects but I'll think of a way to do it, probably a small lookup table on one of my servers.

I was hoping to keep it simple though :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER11> I don't have a dedicated domain for redirection. Is it possible to make: lucasboppre.ww.com -> <http://www.inf.ufsc.br/~lucasboppre/>

Or do I have to own the IP? It's my personal page on the uni server, by the way.

Using this url for hosted code, papers and possibly a resume would be perfect.

On a side note, redirecting anythingunregistered.ww.com to www.anythingunregistered.com would make an interesting (and geeky) party trick.

<comment><AUTHOR> Hm, that's a bit harder. Let me think about how I could do that for you.

<comment><USER11> Thank you. I would be perfectly happy with a Javascript redirection in the index file, a 301 via htaccess or PHP, or whatever is easiest for you.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> If it's available, I'll take:

startups.ww.com --> www.startupsworthwatching.com

<comment><AUTHOR> Smart combo! Ok, it's available.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> How about setting news.ww.com to forward to news.ycombinator.com? Or even... Y.ww.com? (if possible, and okay by pg. Just an idea.)

<comment><AUTHOR> I can do that. But only if PG agrees, no problem from my end.

y.ww ctrl-enter

that'd be funny :)

<comment><USER14> <http://ww.com/y> gives what looks like a directory listing here. Possibly a security flaw?

<comment><AUTHOR> tempfile, thanks for the heads up. removed it.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER15> I also don't have 20 karma, but brian.ww.com CNAME briancloutier.com would be amazing if you could. Thanks for your generosity!

<comment><AUTHOR> Hey Brian,

Ok, you've got it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER16> I don't have 20 karma yet, but could I get phillco.ww.com -> phillipcohen.net? Thanks so much!

<comment><AUTHOR> It's free, so sure.

<comment><USER16> Thank you!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> I've got 17 karma but if it's not taken can I have games.ww.com -> playitontheweb.com?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that's ok, it's been idle for a while.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Ok, the list below is now live, for those that did not supply an IP address or a hostname to redirect to you'll find that you are redirected to localhost.

The people that asked for a path redirect will have to be patient for a bit longer. If there is anything let me know.

Also, plenty of you have not mailed in your confirmation yet, please do so (email@example.com).

<comment><USER11> Take as long as you want to.

And again, even if you can't redirect to paths, thank you for giving this domains away. You made a lot of people happy.

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> Dank vriend, goede karma aan u! I'd like 'tst.ww.com' but I can't tell if it's free (seems parked/squatted, but maybe not). My domain is www.tstw.co.uk - don't know my dns off hand but can find it if needed & will email you this post.

<comment><AUTHOR> It was in use until 2004, so that's yours now.

<comment><USER18> Thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> So close to 20, but if you're generous and round up, and it's available:

mmu.ww.com --> mememeup.com

<comment><AUTHOR> That one was in use but abandoned (most short ones appear to be), so you're welcome to it.

<comment><USER19> Thanks. And thanks for your generosity. I will remember this and hope to be in a position to give back to the community in a similar fashion some day.

Question: are you implementing this in such a way that you can measure redirects? Because that would seem to be a great way to gauge and sample the relative popularity of a wide variety of very interesting sites--excellent business intelligence.

<comment><AUTHOR> It started off as just two domains, I'm actually a bit overwhelmed by the response, but that's nice as well.

For now what will happen is that I will set up DNS entries for all the A records and CNAMES, I don't feel like spying on anybodies traffic.

The two people that have asked for redirects to paths I'll have to handle in a different way, so I will have to make an exception for those two. The temptation to handle everybody with a db table in ww.com is definitely there but I think that it is better to handle things at the DNS level.

More reliable, better privacy.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> I'd like to request grid.ww.com (if it is no longer in use).

I am about a month away from my project's initial release, but if it's available, I can go ahead and set up the target site and domain. Regardless of the outcome, thank you.

<comment><AUTHOR> That's ok, that's been abandoned for a while.

</comment></comment><comment><USER21> Any chance I could get box.ww.com -> inthatbox.com? Looks like maybe it was in use at one time, but I couldn't tell if it still is.

This is great and extremely generous, thank you so much (whether or not it's available)!

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that's fine. And you're welcome :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> The stated offer is for a subdomain of ww.com. but all the transactions here appear to be just for A or CNAME records in the ww.com. zone.

Are you offering a subdomain with delegated DNS? If so, I would be interested.

<comment><AUTHOR> hm

That's an interesting one, I've never actually set that up and it goes beyond the scope of where I can still easily see what's going on, so I think I should not do that.

Any specific reasons why you would want this ?

<comment><USER22> I read

> ... if you want a subdomain of ww.com...

and naturally understood "subdomain" to mean "subdomain".

Perhaps what you meant to write was

"... if you want a hostname in ww.com..."

ww.com is a nice 2nd level domain. A 3rd level domain zyx.ww.com would be pretty nice too, in which one could create several hostnames, such as blog.zyx.ww.com, hg.zyx.ww.com, etc.

Yes, if you delegated the DNS for the subdomain, it would not be as easy for you to see what hostnames are in that subdomain.

<comment><AUTHOR> My problem is not you specifically, my problem is some joker that would abuse this to set up a gazillion spam hosts under ww.com as a tld and do un- repairable harm before I would clue in to it.

It's already a bit of a risk as it is (hence the 20 karma cap, I'm not too strict in looking at that if an account wasn't made 20 minutes ago), but I don't want to get burned.

I agree that the formal interpretation of 'subdomain' is one with delegation, but when someone says they put their usernames on 'subdomains' it is commonly understood to be a 3rd level host name, and not one with full delegation.

You could have surmised that from the bit that asks for 'the ip to go with it' and not for 'the ips of the name servers to go with it'.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> Heya!

Unfortunately I don't have 20 points on this account..but I suppose it's worth a shot! Could I possibly get encrypt.ww.com -> encryptica.com? It's my startup's website and we're officially launching soon :)

[IP: 184.108.40.206]

Dank je wel :D

EDIT: Added IP

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, it's yours.

alsjeblieft ;)

<comment><USER23> THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU :D

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Back in the day this would have been really cool for vanity hostnames when logging on to IRC.

I imagine a few people that owned short hostnames for that purpose made a killing flipping them years later.

<comment><AUTHOR> > Back in the day this would have been really cool for vanity hostnames when > logging on to IRC.

That's how this all started :)

> I imagine a few people that owned short hostnames for that purpose made a > killing flipping them years later.

Yes, best investment they ever made ROI wise, most likely.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> I'm curious, is there a backstory on how you came to own ww.com?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, the short version is someone auctioned it off on ebay (I _never_ went to ebay in my life before then) and was apparently negotiating with weight watchers.

I had a lot of money set aside from the sale of 'gameplay.com', so over Christmas I negotiated with the guy (while all of Weight Watchers was on a holiday they well deserved) and by the 27th we had a deal. We set up an escrow, I paid, he transferred the domain.

Weight Watchers came back from their holiday and was sorely pissed off :)

<comment><USER26> Care to give a ballpark on how much you paid for it? Just curious.

<comment><AUTHOR> mail me.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> Thanks a ton! You're lucky to get that.

Can you do forwarding? I don't want to have to worry about keeping the IP (or bothering you again)

If so, can you do zach.ww.com -> ww.zbanks.net ?

<comment><AUTHOR> I can, sure. I'll do that (CNAME).

</comment></comment><comment><USER28> Can I have nyc.ww.com cnamed to nyc.wizard-domains.com (which I'll add for this purpose!) I see that it's taken but inactive. Otherwise nycme.ww.com. =)

<comment><AUTHOR> Sorry, but silas already took nyc (see below).

So nycme is yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER29> Hello, could I please have kitten.ww.com to www.kittenlabs.com? Or arien.ww.com if the previous one is taken?

Thank you for the service by the way, much appreciated :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Abandoned since '03, so that's ok.

<comment><USER29> Thanks a lot! :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> Is dlp.ww.com taken? If not, I'd like that dlp.ww.com --> <http://aperiodic.org>.

Thank you so much for this offer!

<comment><AUTHOR> Last seen in '06, so that's ok.

</comment></comment><comment><USER31> How about scotty.ww.com -> www.scottyallen.com? Looks like scotty.ww.com is probably abandoned. Thanks - it's cool that you're doing this.

<comment><AUTHOR> It is, that was last active in '03, so you're welcome to have it.

<comment><USER31> Awesome, thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER32> Hey. Thanks for the opportunity. I'm stuck without a domain for my artist profile.

some1else.ww.com -> s1e-ww.appspot.com (currently just a music player)

Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that's free so it's yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER33> That is so cool :)

I would really love to have

bre.ww.com -> micheljansen.org (220.127.116.11)

It is taken but does not look very active.

If not, you would make me very happy with vie.ww.com too :)

<comment><AUTHOR> bre was active less than a year ago but vie hasn't been used since 2004 so if it's ok with you go for vie ?

<comment><USER33> "een gegeven paard"... (sorry couldn't resist after noticing a fellow Dutchie) :D

vie.ww.com is awesome too :)

<comment><AUTHOR> hehe, it exists in English too :)

Ok, vie it is!

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> Very generous offer. Any chance of ? will.ww.com --> ww.hamstersoup.com

I know you excluded one letter domains but w.ww.com would be even cooler ;-)

Bedankt!

<comment><AUTHOR> Will is good. w.ww.com would be cooler but has been excluded for obvious reasons ;)

No need to bring on my own typo squatters :)

So Will.ww.com is yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER35> Very cool of you to do this Jacques.

hnl.ww.com seems taken, but is it active? Would like to make a shorter URL for my Hacker Newsletter site.

<comment><AUTHOR> That one was abandoned a while ago, you can have it.

CNAME info or IP please ?

<comment><USER35> Great, thanks!

hnl.ww.com. CNAME hackernewsletter.com.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> This is a wonderful, wonderful gesture.

I'm a massive lurker here, but if it's cool: greg.ww.com else gregk.ww.com -> g.electro-h.ca

Thanks for chance.

<comment><AUTHOR> That's yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER37> It breaks rule #2 and it's not my site, but I think this would be popular with HN users:

4h.ww.com -> www.fourhourworkweek.com

<comment><AUTHOR> Is that your site?

if so please mail me.

<comment><USER37> Nope. It belongs to Tim Ferriss, author of 4 Hour Workweek. He's pretty famous among hackers and freelancers.

It was the only site that came to mind that naturally used 'ww' at the end. :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> Hi great idea!

Please meme.ww.com Please forward to <http://thememingoflife.com/>

Thanks,

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, that one is fine by me.

<comment><USER38> Thank you.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER39> <http://salad.ww.com> CNAME to whalesalad.com please! :D

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is good with me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER40> Jacquesm, I'm intrigued are you thinking this will give you domain authority (in SEO terms)? I can well imagine it would with a links in coming from these users.

I'm not at all saying this is a bad thing, you're giving away a free service, just wondered if it was part of your considerations.

<comment><AUTHOR> > Jacquesm, I'm intrigued are you thinking this will give you domain authority > (in SEO terms)?

tbh the thought never even crossed my mind, what happened is that on the #startups channel on freenode.irc.net someone asked me if I would give them a vanity domain on ww.com so I said sure.

Then two other people asked for it, and I suggested that maybe we should offer this to HN rather than just those in the IRC channel.

The thing that has been mostly on my mind is actually the opposite.

Plenty of people are asking for domains that were in use at some point, and ww.com actually relies on a lot of those old domains and backlinks from them for its traffic.

So if anything I'll probably end up taking a hit from this.

<comment><USER41> Hmm, maybe we should have an IRC channel like reddit :).

<comment><USER42> #startups (on Freenode) is an IRC channel, as jacquesm noted.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER43> Thank you for this awesome offer!

Is alex.ww.com abandoned? If so, can you please do alex.ww -> alexanderkharlamov.com ?

Thank you!

<comment><AUTHOR> It's been abandoned since 2003, so you can have it.

<comment><USER43> Thanks a lot!!!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER44> wrv.ww.com -> <http://www.waveridingvehicles.com/>

WRV is a local surf shop where I live and while I don't own the website I hate having to type in their URL. I think it would be a nice gift, even if it's temporary.

Thanks in advance.

<comment><AUTHOR> hey drey,

that one was used in the past but is free now, so you can have it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER45> please count me in...

moc.ww.com

Yes, it's a palindrome.

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, that one is fine as well.

That's going to be a long dns file :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER46> Hi Jacques, if it's not too late any chance of code.ww.com to quietcode.com. It appears to be free.

Thanks heaps

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that's good.

<comment><USER46> Thanks. Have you spent the last 15 hours just hitting refresh on this page? Looking at your response times here, it doesn't look like you've taken much of a break :)

<comment><AUTHOR> I actually just woke up after a few hours of sleep, I expected 'a few takers' but nothing on this scale :)

Indirectly this is good proof of how large HN has become, just imagine that a substantial fraction had responded I'd be busy for a week or more just to check availability.

And that's the funny thing, so far only a few that were still in active use.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER47> Great offer! I'd like

       michiel.ww.com CNAME michielovertoom.com

Thank you very much.

<comment><AUTHOR> Last active in 2003, so you're welcome to take that one.

</comment></comment><comment><USER48> <http://pics.ww.com>

dns: ns1.nightlylabs.com ns2.nightlylabs.com

Thank you so much!

<comment><AUTHOR> Sorry, but pics.ww.com (try your link!) happens to be a live service (see note elsewhere in this thread about 'reserved names').

photos.ww.com ?

img.ww.com ?

<comment><USER48> Haha should have checked my bad.

<comment><AUTHOR> photos and img are both free, you can have either one.

<comment><USER48> Can I just go with levy.ww.com please?

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER49> Hi, thank you so much for your generosity. How about gxs or gss cname to guillermosalazar.com?

Thanks!!

<comment><AUTHOR> yes, that's free.

</comment></comment><comment><USER50> Can I have penetration-testing.ww.com -> www.mandalorian.com please?

Thanks for the awesome offer!

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is free, so yes, you can.

</comment></comment><comment><USER51> I would be happy to have flashcards.ww.com => flashcarddb.com

Thank you if or if not possible!

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that's a free one.

</comment></comment><comment><USER52> jasonmiller.ww.com CNAME jasonmmiller.org (Having a common name is sometimes a pain)

(And Thanks!)

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is good

</comment></comment><comment><USER53> rf.ww.com > 18.104.22.168

mc.ww.com > 126.96.36.199

If the former is not available, the latter is my second choice. If neither are available, I shall pass. Thanks for the awesome generosity, nice people are my favourite internet people :p

<comment><AUTHOR> Check the 'two letter limit'. Min = 3 letters!

<comment><USER53> I read through twice to make sure and I managed to miss the most important part, silly me. I withdraw my request then, good luck! :-)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER54> Would it be possible to get banks.ww.com CNAME jeremybanks.com? Many thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes that one is not in use as far as I can see.

</comment></comment><comment><USER55> Hey jacquesm, thanks! Could you setup mariana.ww.com CNAME epiphany.net.ve?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes that's good.

</comment></comment><comment><USER56> If you don't mind, could I have zoink.ww.com point to zoink.com? Thanks!!

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, sure.

</comment></comment><comment><USER57> Unfortunately "mst.ww.com" appears taken.

In that case, I'd like:

chocolatefactory.ww.com IN A 184.108.40.206

<comment><AUTHOR> mst has been abandoned so you can have that one.

</comment></comment><comment><USER58> How about daw.ww.com CNAME to thesmartestpeopleever.com?

Thanks for being so generous!

<comment><AUTHOR> yes, that's good.

</comment></comment><comment><USER59> Cool idea. I would like yhager.ww.com CNAME to yhager.com please.

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is ok.

</comment></comment><comment><USER60> Thanks so much!!. would it be possible to get

audio.ww.com -> benbloomberg.com

<comment><AUTHOR> That's good.

</comment></comment><comment><USER61> can you add

vincent.ww.com -> 220.127.116.11 and/or canada.ww.com -> 22.214.171.124 and/or vhs.ww.com -> 126.96.36.199

in order of preference That would be awesome! Thank you so much in advance!

<comment><AUTHOR> Vincent is good.

</comment></comment><comment><USER62> george.ww.com looks taken, but perhaps abandoned? If so, I'd love to have it point to georgehuger.com

If that's not possible, qeorge.ww.com -> georgehuger.com would be cool too.

Thanks, jacques!

<comment><AUTHOR> It's been idle since 2004, so it's yours now.

<comment><USER62> Thank you, sir!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER63> Can I get CNAME for mma.ww.com to www.fighter.pro? Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> Abandoned since '05, so that's fine.

</comment></comment><comment><USER64> Could I have drew -> www.drewtaylor.com? Thanks a ton!

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that one was in use until 2003 so I think the old owner won't mind too much :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER65> Sweet, I'd take: nyc.ww.com => nyc.sewell.ch (CNAME)

<comment><AUTHOR> excellent choice ;)

You've got it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER66> oh man, i would love to have httpw.ww.com CNAME doig.me

<comment><AUTHOR> hm that's a bit fishy though

Intended purpose ?

<comment><USER66> nothing malign, just think its a neat, clever url. I'd probably use it as a shortener for a couple of my blogs, but if it doesn't sit well with you, can I have jed.ww.com?

<comment><AUTHOR> jed is cool.

And I agree it's clever ;)

<comment><USER66> great! thank you

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER67> I see you've already taken care of wwdotcom.ww.com :-)

<comment><AUTHOR> There's a wild card handler on there, so that's free if you want it but I think it would fall under the 'representation' bit :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER68> I've obviously missed the deadline, but I'm frankly amazed that searching this page for "rubba" doesn't come back with anything!

No one thought of Rub-a-dub-dub?

</comment><comment><USER69> Could I get e.ww.com CNAME waylaid.org? Thank you. :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Check the length limit clause please.

</comment></comment><comment><USER70> Could I have hosting.ww.com CNAME hostingreborn.com?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, on the condition that you take the 'no representation bit to heart' you've got it.

<comment><USER70> Absolutely, not a problem with that at all.

Edit: confirmation email sent as requested. Many thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER71> rob.ww.com -> robryancoding.com seems to be something there, not sure whats classed as abandoned otherwise just robryan.ww.com Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> Abandoned since '01 so I don't think he'll mind.

<comment><USER71> Cool, thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER72> Dear sir,

Would it possible to get CNAME nan.ww.com -> nan.bitfreezer.com ?

Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, you can have that one.

<comment><USER72> Great, thanks

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER73> How about pshc.ww.com CNAME paulcollier.ca? Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, that's free.

</comment></comment><comment><USER74> Can I get 666.ww.com CNAME leethaxor.boldlygoingnowhere.org ?

Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> 39 minutes since my prediction :)

Yes that's fine.

<comment><USER74> I had no idea what to pick, was scrolling through the thread, and saw your post ;)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER75> How about atp.ww.com -> allthingsprogress.com?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that's fine with me.

<comment><USER75> Thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER76> I'd love to have bqb.ww.com -> bitquabit.com

<comment><AUTHOR> ok, that's yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER77> I am stupid, I don't get it: what's special about having a ww.com subdomain? Is there a pun or something in the english language?

</comment><comment><USER78> hi Jacques, If this is not too late, I would love to get a subdomain : exo.ww.com == going to ==> sbstest.typenfind.com Dan

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that's good.

<comment><USER78> Thanks Jacques! Are you French BTW? any idea when it's going to be up?

<comment><AUTHOR> You're welcome.

No, I'm Dutch. Just my name :)

It'll be up in another 4 hours when this thread goes dead. Otherwise I have to go through the whole thing twice.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER79> How about arek.ww.com -> 126.96.36.199

Thanks, by the way.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that one is fine with me.

</comment></comment><comment><USER80> programbler.ww.com CNAME blog.sthrs.me okay? I'd really appreciate it, and thanks for the offer anyway if you don't accept.

<comment><AUTHOR> It's good, you've got it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER81> build.ww.com > getsetweb.in

I am developing a "data first, design next" web cms for static websites and blogs. Would love one! Thanks :)

<comment><AUTHOR> ok!

</comment></comment><comment><USER82> Can I get currus.ww.com -> 184.108.40.206?

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that's free.

</comment></comment><comment><USER83> Sure, I'd love one.

w.ww.com (hey i can hope :P) ip: 220.127.116.11

edit: i won't use it for anything nonkosher. edit2: Changed my mind to 'w-ww'?

<comment><AUTHOR> ah, sorry, new rule :)

I should have added that right away, sorry.

Anything smaller than 3 letters is out for technical reasons.

<comment><USER83> How about 'yan' then? (You've inspired me to start a similar thread :)

edit: would w-ww work also?

<comment><AUTHOR> yan is cool, you've got it

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> How about nic.ww.com to 188.8.131.52 :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Sure. It's yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER84> Very cool, zack.ww.com ==> hm.zackham.com?

Thank you!

<comment><AUTHOR> That's good.

</comment></comment><comment><USER85> Hey, I would like

if(availability==true)

pat.ww.com->pathikshah.com/blog

else

pathik.ww.com->pathikshah.com/blog

Thanks.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes that's ok.

</comment></comment><comment><USER86> portman.ww.com CNAME www.portmanwills.com

Not sure what I would want to do with it yet, but very cool and generous idea!

<comment><AUTHOR> That's ok, it was used in the past but has been abanoned, so it's yours now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER87> Cool, thankyou!

timf.ww.com -> www.peakscale.com

<comment><AUTHOR> Hey Tim, you've got it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER88> gee.ww.com -> 184.108.40.206

I think its taken, but if abandoned, I'd love to have it for my blog, thanks!!

<comment><AUTHOR> Abandoned since '03, so it's yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER89> Awesome, thanks :)

api.ww.com CNAME kyleconroy.com

<comment><AUTHOR> hm that's tricky, we are planning to put an api on to ww.com in the next couple of months for widgets and stuff like that, I'm really sorry.

The same goes for:

maint, dbmaster, www (obviously), video _, upload_ , postcards _, dev, mobile, index, eliteindex, chat, files, pics, mob, signup, www_ , counters and secure (I think that's all of them).

<comment><USER89> No need to apologize, I totally understand. Could I get derf.ww.com? It appears to be free.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, that one was in use but until '03 so I'm ok with that.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER90> Thanks jasquesm!

235.ww.com -> 235nuclear.com

<comment><AUTHOR> that's a new kind, numerical!

You've got it. Now waiting for 666.ww.com ;)

</comment></comment><comment><USER91> Hi! Please link igor.ww.com to 126.96.36.199 - this is my personal website. Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> Hi as well, Igor, ok that's yours now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER92> duncanspencer.ww.com -> duncanspencer.com (18.104.22.168/web74.webfaction.com)

I Appreciate it.

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is free, so that was easy :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER93> brad.ww.com => bradlyfeeley.com

If that is still active, bradly.ww.com => bradlyfeeley.com

Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> It looks like it has been abandoned so that's fine.

</comment></comment><comment><USER94> One more if its allowed:

careers.ww.com -> caree.rs

Thanks

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is good, you've got it.

<comment><USER94> thanks

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER95> I'll take sjs.ww.com off your hands :) Really cool of you. Thanks!

ip: 184.108.40.206

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, you've got it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER96> Is mark.ww.com taken?

mark.ww.com CNAME mark.nirv.net

thanks

<comment><AUTHOR> Yes, but it's been abandoned since 2002.

So you're welcome to have it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER97> Great idea.

benjoffe.ww.com -> www.benjoffe.com

Thanks.

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is free, so it's yours.

<comment><USER97> Thanks jacquesm, though oddly it has been giving an error for the last few hours:

<http://benjoffe.ww.com/> Site Temporarily Unavailable

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please contact the webmaster/ tech support immediately to have them rectify this. error id: "bad_httpd_conf"

Other *.ww.com subdomains are working on my machine so I'm assuming it's an error with the site.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER98> can I get dot.ww.com or kapo.ww.com -> gerardpaapu.com

<comment><AUTHOR> Abandoned since '03, so dot is yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER99> bro.ww.com -> CNAME bro.chrisbroadfoot.id.au please!

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok. it's yours!

<comment><USER99> You rock, bro! Also, some very amusing webcams on ww.com - I spent much of today watching two guys in Taiwan play ping pong in hilarious shorts.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER100> geo.ww.com -> geo.david.cx would be nice ! thanks !

<comment><AUTHOR> yes, that's a nice one. you've got it.

<comment><USER100> thanks a lot !

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER101> dubreuil.ww.com -> <http://christophedubreuil.posterous.com/>

thank you to be so generous :)

</comment><comment><USER102> Jacques,

mahmud.ww.com ==> mahmud.arablug.org

Thanks

<comment><AUTHOR> ok, that's yours :)

<comment><USER102> Thanks Jacques :-)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER103> psd.ww.com CNAME PhotoshopLayerStyles.com

Or photoshop.ww.com if psd is active.

Thanks :)

<comment><AUTHOR> That's fine, it's been out of use for a long long time.

</comment></comment><comment><USER104> vipper.ww.com -> gilslotd.com Thank you a bunch!

<comment><AUTHOR> Vipper is free, so that's yours.

You're welcome :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER105> blog.ww.com -> yakkstr.com

thanks

<comment><AUTHOR> It's in use but the user hasn't been online in a couple of years so I'm ok with that.

</comment></comment><comment><USER106> hive.ww.com -> 18.104.22.168 (hivearchive.com)

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is ok.

</comment></comment><comment><USER107> I'll take rick.ww.com -> richardminerich.com

</comment><comment><USER108> bln.ww.con -> blntechie.wordpress.com if it's possible?

Thanks

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm sorry but that user was last online at 2010-09-23, so that account is definitely in use. Any alternative ?

<comment><USER108> Cool. blntechie.ww.con should do.

<comment><AUTHOR> yes, that one is free.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER109> possible good sir? tea.ww.com -> teaapp.com

<comment><AUTHOR> Sure, that one is fine.

</comment></comment><comment><USER110> eat.ww.com to <http://www.weightwatchers.com/> ? (just for the joke)

</comment><comment><USER111> leifleif.ww.com -> leifwalsh.com plz thx

<comment><AUTHOR> Leif is abandoned, you can have that if you want, leifleif is free. Your preference ?

<comment><USER111> leifleif.ww.com please, but thanks for the option :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER112> uppi.ww.com > 18.104.22.168 please :p

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is ok, it seems to be abandoned.

</comment></comment><comment><USER113> timeline.ww.com -> www.timeline-x.com

<comment><AUTHOR> Timeline is yours. Please note I'll do all the DNS updates in one go at the end of the 24 hour period.

<comment><USER113> ok thx

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER114> hirc.ww.com -> 18.104.22.168 please.

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, that one is yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER115> symkat.ww.com CNAME -> symkat.com

Email sent! <3

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is free, so you're welcome to it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER116> sokoloff.ww.com -> www.sokoloff.com

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is free, so that's yours now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER117> may I have wwo.ww.com. The IP is 126.96.36.199

Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> It exists but is dormant so that's ok.

<comment><USER117> awesome. thanks.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER118> tam.ww.com > 18.104.22.168 Cheers.

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, that's fine.

</comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> This thread is now closed... sorry!

</comment><comment><USER119> how about "net" to 184.108.40.206?

<comment><AUTHOR> User last seen in 2004, yes, I'm ok with that.

<comment><USER120> Oh, so things that are essentially squatted are fair game?

I don't see any way to tell if one's been in recent use, but I'll take dan.ww.com -> danieljackoway.com if possible.

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, you've got dan.ww.com.

<comment><USER121> Thank's so much for your generosity Jacques!

I'd like frank.ww.com CNAME theharpers.biz. If frank isn't good then frankh or fharper.

<comment><AUTHOR> That one has been long abandoned, so sure.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER122> danny.ww.com --> <http://www.dannygagne.com>

Thanks :)

</comment><comment><USER123> baaa.ww.com CNAME baaaww.rntz.net

Thanks in advance!

<comment><AUTHOR> sheepish :)

you've got it, it's free.

</comment></comment><comment><USER42> com.ww.com, CNAME breitkreuz.me.

if that is possible

<comment><AUTHOR> yes, that's ok.

</comment></comment><comment><USER124> steve.ww.com CNAME stevemorin.com

<comment><AUTHOR> ok

<comment><USER124> Thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER125> world.ww.com -> zac.gorak.us

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is free, is that spelled right ?

<comment><USER125> ah. fingers type random nonsense...

world.ww.com free?

<comment><AUTHOR> I think it is, so that is ok. Last use in 2003.

<comment><USER125> awesome thanks!

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER126> app.ww.com to appoftheday.com

<comment><AUTHOR> yes, that's ok.

</comment></comment><comment><USER127> pow.ww.com -> 22.214.171.124 ?

cheers, ~B

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, that's fine.

</comment></comment><comment><USER128> wwww.ww.com CNAME m70.no? :)

<comment><AUTHOR> Hehe, creative. Ok, I'm ok with that conditional on a check to see how much type-in traffic that costs me, cool ?

<comment><USER128> Okay :-)

</comment></comment></comment><comment> w-ll the.ww.com => w-ll.org

<comment><AUTHOR> It was in use but long ago, so it's yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER129> bcl.ww.com CNAME neil.brianlane.com

Thanks!

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, it's yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER101> oli.ww.com -> abracadabran.posterous.com

hope it is not taken yet. thank you

</comment><comment><USER94> resume.ww.com -> resu.me

Thanks

<comment><AUTHOR> That one is free, so it's yours.

</comment></comment><comment><USER130> tim.ww.com -> timothyandrew.net ?

</comment><comment><USER131> How about?:

http.ww.com -> haha.com

Thanks!

</comment><comment><USER132> max.

188.8.131.52

<comment><AUTHOR> abandoned since 2003 so that's fine.

<comment><USER132> Awesome. Thanks!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER133> can i have "w"

<comment><USER133> pointed to w.vidutis.com

</comment></comment><comment><USER134> I don't have 20 rep, but i'm begging for belize.ww.com

<comment><AUTHOR> ok, cool.

</comment></comment><comment><USER135> "a bad [hairday] you may lose it "

The fact you say people may lose it because you may have "a bad [hairday]" says so much about you. Which is: an inconsiderate ass hole looking for glory/karma points.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you for your kind feedback. I think this comment says more about you than it does about me.

The point is: If enough people abuse this I might have to put a stop to it.

So, to make sure that it is absolutely clear that this is not to be used for mission critical stuff because I reserve the right to 'undo' it.

Most likely it will last forever but I do not wish to have anybody sue me at some point for making a promise that I could not keep.

Looking forward to more positive contributions from you in the future.

<comment><USER135> Some people can't see beyond their own bullshit. Welcome to your reality.

<comment><AUTHOR> I've always wondered what it is that makes people spout bile like this, one thing I noticed they have in common is that as a rule they're anonymous.

<comment><USER26> Wow, this guy has -37 karma (at the moment)......doesn't HN block it at -10 karma per comment?

<comment><AUTHOR> It caps the display at -4 but it keeps on counting down.</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Inbox by Gmail sunset by April 2, suggests in-app messaging - <AUTHOR> https://www.macrumors.com/2019/03/19/google-shut-down-inbox-by-gmail-april-2/ <comment><AUTHOR> IME opinions are often divided on which frontend is superior. I prefer Gmail, but mostly due to its speed relative to Inbox.

Now that Gmail has some of Inbox' features, I no longer feel like I'm missing out.

However, Gmail seems to have also inherited Inbox' JavaScript bloat as well.</comment>


Show HN: A foursquare client written entirely in kotlin - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/chemouna/Nearby <comment><USER2> Nice project, looks good and Kotlin code is very readable. I personally prefer using Anvil for views since the project becomes much cleaner (while still being reactive). But that would be more MVVM rather than MVP.

[https://github.com/zserge/anvil](https://github.com/zserge/anvil)</comment>