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0 pointspbhjpbhj2y ago0 comments

>While with Netlify the person is back at exactly where they started //

Hmm, moving to a free service can take a lot of time, there might be lock-in?

I don't have specific experience of netlify.

I stayed with my hosting provider despite them doubling my costs just because it would take a long time to find another trustable provider with the offering I need and then a lot of time to move and make sure everything is working.

If it's just a white label service then yes, easy to switch back. If it's not directly comparable then integration costs (in time) can mean you've been "dumped in the road half way there".

Of course if the driver tells you directly "I might have to drop you half way" then that's fine.

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4 comments · 2 top-level

dinkleberg2y ago· 2 in thread

It takes a couple of minutes to setup services like these (be it netlify, vercel, Cloudflare, etc.) You connect your repo, tell it what command to run, and then which directory to grab. If you’re using a popular framework like Hugo they’ll often auto detect all of those settings for you.

toolz2y ago

They are not interchangeable though and that's the crux of it. When a service like this tells you you're eligible for using their product for free and then boot you off their service, they are potentially leaving you in a worse state than if you had never used their service to begin with.

It's hard to express how benign most of this is and I'm not trying to oversell the damages, but there is potential for it to be bad and thus at some point there's a responsibility to your users (that champion your product and give you indirect value) to do at least the bare minimum of giving them an email or something.

It certainly takes less time for netlify to send an email than it does for their users to change platforms.

surge2y ago

Right, its called vendor lock in. It's why a lot of services offer a free tier, to reduce the upfront investment in the hopes you'll settle in and eventually pay. It's why students get free software licenses, etc. It's a valid way of doing business, and its not like the consumer isn't aware of the risks. If you want to support a business on a free demo, don't get mad when you get no SLA.

In either case, they fixed the problem, but the expectation of immediate support on a free account is silly.

surge2y ago

> Hmm, moving to a free service can take a lot of time, there might be lock-in?

Which is why it's good to pay for the product to get support once you're dependent on it. It's why cloud providers give companies and devs free credit. Once you've built it on that platform, you're less likely to want to move, and might need to scale, and get support once you're making money. This is how free tiers work, they're basically a demo, and they can cancel accounts for abuse or get around to fixing problems if and when they feel like it. You're also welcome to find another service...that's free, that provides great support and hope they stick around.

Going back to the free sample analogy, you can get one for free, but if you want the full product (including support), you gotta pay.

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4 comments · 2 top-level

dinkleberg2y ago· 2 in thread

toolz2y ago

It certainly takes less time for netlify to send an email than it does for their users to change platforms.

surge2y ago

In either case, they fixed the problem, but the expectation of immediate support on a free account is silly.

surge2y ago

> Hmm, moving to a free service can take a lot of time, there might be lock-in?

Going back to the free sample analogy, you can get one for free, but if you want the full product (including support), you gotta pay.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse