Neat app and one of the best examples of a keep-it-simple webapp I've seen.
But let's talk about the ID. Sure, it's a hundred and forty trillion, but it's also less than 48 bits. Note that every visit to the site's root URL generates a new ID, and compare with The Fridge which (very reasonably) uses a 128-bit-equivalent ID: 25 alphanumerics!
I'm not buying this "hard to type" argument. First, an app would ideally just allow you to get a more-typable version if you specifically request it. Second, how often are you typing in IDs? When the URL is on paper or on another device? I'm thinking it's not often enough to truly affect usability. Third, I use a keyboard that doesn't even have a numpad and somehow I get by.
Finally, let's say we spec out that we do want at least 47 bits of IDs. The site can get there by using 10 lowercase letters or 8 of all alphanumerics. Game over. Now the lowercase option comes down to adding two characters for the sake of better typability, which is a crummy trade. Not only for Twitter reasons but because the longer the URL is, the less shareable it looks.
Comments
Neat app and one of the best examples of a keep-it-simple webapp I've seen.
But let's talk about the ID. Sure, it's a hundred and forty trillion, but it's also less than 48 bits. Note that every visit to the site's root URL generates a new ID, and compare with The Fridge which (very reasonably) uses a 128-bit-equivalent ID: 25 alphanumerics!
I'm not buying this "hard to type" argument. First, an app would ideally just allow you to get a more-typable version if you specifically request it. Second, how often are you typing in IDs? When the URL is on paper or on another device? I'm thinking it's not often enough to truly affect usability. Third, I use a keyboard that doesn't even have a numpad and somehow I get by.
Finally, let's say we spec out that we do want at least 47 bits of IDs. The site can get there by using 10 lowercase letters or 8 of all alphanumerics. Game over. Now the lowercase option comes down to adding two characters for the sake of better typability, which is a crummy trade. Not only for Twitter reasons but because the longer the URL is, the less shareable it looks.