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Comment by dreamdu5t | Hacker News Reader

Bots are broken as a platform. No advertising, no payments system, developers have to pay for hosting, there's no discovery mechanism because the messengers don't have bot stores... Why would developers be interested?

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> Why would developers be interested?

For exactly the reasons you mentioned.

Now what would business folks be interested? That's another question.

Replace "bots" with "internet" and this could have been a quote lifted from a circa-1995 Microsoft strategy meeting

Bots are closer to a CLI than a GUI, that is the core issue with discovery.

I don't understand the discovery comment. I don't discover Bob the copier salesman. I decide I need a copier, search for copier retailers and then give Bob a call. Won't bots work the same way?

Depends on which vision wins out. The phone handset vendors certainly have a leg up on being the "discovery" part, deciding which copier retailers you get exposed to.

You don't have to discover how to call Bob, which is analogous to finding the bot. But you may need to discover what jargon to use with Bob to make sure you get what you want.

I'm not trying to convince you otherwise, but I honestly believe you're missing the point. Bots will triumph not because of technical reasons, but rather because they are what people want. If you let me a self-plug, here's a detailed explanation I wrote a few days ago, I'd love to know what you think after reading it: http://cfenollosa.com/blog/bots-lack-metaphors-and-that-is-t...

As I understand it, bots have been really successful in Asia. The messaging platforms did add payment ability for the bots, and it doesn't require users to install a new app.

There also are bot stores on some messaging apps. I know Skype just added one. And facebook and telegram were giving out grants for users to develop interesting bots on their platforms.

Pretty sure you'll be able to insert adverts into what a bot says.

Why do you say you'll be able to insert adverts into what a bot says? We can talk about Acme Corporation's great products if you like.

What stops you from building a bot that supports advertising, payments system, "server-less" mode?

Also bot functions can be federated and forwarded quite easily.

It's possible to buy iPhone apps by sending a check in the mail... missing my point entirely.

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