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Comment by jxf | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if we need an update to jwz's famous quote [0]:

"Every program attempts to expand until it implements user-to-user messaging. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones that can."

[0]: http://www.jwz.org/hacks/

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Just as a clerical point, it would be better not to put a modified quote inside quotation marks. Currently, it looks like you're quoting the cited article when you're not.

Really, the quotation marks need scare quotes, so you know they're just so-called quotation marks: "'"<modified quotation here>"'"

Ah, that's a fair point. My intention was to show what I thought the updated version would look like.

I'd edit if I could, but I'm already past the edit window. Alas.

The way I see it, Snapchat as a unique fun little app that had a very specific use case. That's what users loved about it.

But VCs aren't so keen on quirky little apps... they want an app that everybody uses all the time. This release is an attempt to take Snapchat more into the mainstream messaging market, even if that means losing its original appeal.

VCs would rather pursue a small chance of being number 1 in a major category to a big chance of being a popular niche player.

What would that update be? Or is "user-to-user messaging" explicitly text messaging?

The original quote is about mail:

"Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can."

Which itself may have been derived from an earlier Usenet quote about MIT [1]

"Every program in development at MIT expands until it can read mail."

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Zawinski#Zawinski.27s_law...

That's a poignant observation.

Just on my front page, 5/20 apps can send direct messages.

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