> Apps may come and go, but files stay—at least, as long as our apps think in files.

yes: https://www.swyx.io/data-outlasts-code-but

all lasting work is done in files/data (can be parsed permissionlessly, still useful if partially corrupted), but economic incentives keep pushing us to keep things in code (brittle, dies basically when one of maintainer|buildtools|hardware substrate dies).

when standards emerge (forcing code to accept/emit data) that is worth so much to a civilization. a developer ecosystem tipping the incentive scales such that companies like the Googl/Msft/OpenAI/Anthropics of the world WANT to contribute/participate in data standards rather than keep things proprietary is one of the most powerful levers we as a developer community collectively hold.

(At the same time we shoudl also watch out for companies extending/embracing/extinguishing standards... although honestly outside of Chrome I struggle to think of a truly successful example)

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zahlman 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Indeed. My first reaction was:

> Files are the source of truth—the apps would reflect whatever’s in your folder.

Now that the "app" is a web site that supports itself with advertising revenue, it has no incentive whatsoever to work this way.

	▲	danabramov 40 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		I think it's on open social apps to show that they're actually meaningfully better products, and that is possible because they're open. With luck, this may lead to an ecosystem where it's worth staying compatible and interoperable, and where users scoff if someone is trying to break it, and where users have an easy way to walk away. I know this sounds super idealistic but this did essentially happen with open source over a long time. At some point, people were just as skeptical of open source as we might be about open social.

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danabramov 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Nice to see you :) I didn't know the "indirection" law, that's funny.

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bigyabai an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

I think that's an overly charitable take. Giving Google/MSFT/OpenAI/Anthropic what they want does not guarantee a return on dividends. Standards are nice, but Apple is a giant testament to the fact that all the standards in the world won't move an adequately entrenched business.