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Comment by greghinch | Hacker News Reader

I don't get why developers are so mad at Twitter. Why is making a Twitter client the only project you can do? If you really can make a piece of software that provides a better experience for Twitter, certainly you have the ability to make something else. And if you're anything like me and every dev I know, you have half a dozen or more project ideas rattling around in your head. Make one of those and let Twitter go.

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Ask Tapbots what makes them more money: The four projects they launched before TweetBot, the aforementioned "project ideas rattling around in your head" or TweetBot. I have little doubt as to the answer you'll get.

Developers are mad at Twitter because Twitter gave them a platform to develop on, one that their users enjoyed and made them lots of money, and then yanked it away. Simply telling people to "let twitter go" is ridiculous. Just because you have another idea doesn't mean it will be anywhere close to as lucrative and sustainable as a Twitter client.

Just like the article says, nobody owes anyone in this situation. Everyone was basically in the wrong. However, devs are still going to be mad at twitter. You don't have to feel entitled to something to be annoyed when it's taken away.

Fine so Tapbots made a bunch of money on a Twitter client. So people get mad because they can't "me too"? Make something else. Maybe it'll tank. Maybe it'll go nuts and make you a millionaire. Probably it'll be somewhere in between. But at least you're being creative and trying to move forward instead of lamenting change

I'm guessing it's also an emotional issue: someone loves Twitter, they use it to communicate in ways they couldn't before. But they are frustrated by Twitter's own apps, and wanted to find a better way to use this service they love.

And so much of twitter's functionality was "contributed" by those same passionate early users - hashtags, @replies etc.

And don't forget if it wasn't for third party developers building their own clients, we wouldn't have the official Twitter clients on iOS or Mac.

Everyone keeps quoting this acting like it validates the sense of entitlement everyone feels they have to all of Twitter's data.

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