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Ask HN: Calendar/event manager that doesn't suck?

10 points by MTemer ↗ HN
I want to create events with a time and date, assign participants and automatically notify them via e-mail (or SMS) a day before. I don't want them to have to download any app or create an user account. And it should work with any kind of e-mail (Gmail, Outlook, custom domain). I would manually manage the name, e-mail and phone number of each person. It would be acceptable, though, for the user to create an account if he wants to check the full calendar with the e-mail he was invited. Just not for the notification and confirmation stuff.

So far I tried:

- Outlook.com: slow, heavy cache problems, events failing to be created, most e-mail notifications don't get delivered (maybe they need to be in my contact list or have exchanged e-mails with me? some kind of anti-spam?), if Gmail users click on Yes/No/Maybe I get "550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable". Tried both with a custom domain and a new @outlook.com account. I couldn't believe how shitty this thing is.

- Zoho: terrible UI, and I couldn't even get the confirmation e-mail delivered. It doesn't even hit my Gmail spam folder. How can I trust it to deliver notifications?

- Gmail: Like Outlook, user needs a Google Account to be able to reply Yes/No/Maybe, or to view the events.

- Trello: Doesn't work for this use case.

Any suggestions? If I need to self-host this thing in 2016 I might give up on the internet.

12 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 40.7 ms ] thread
jeffmould
What about something Evite, Eventbrite, or even Meetup.com?
MTemer
Thanks, I'll take a look.

By the way, the events should be private (and might contain some confidential information).

jeffmould
I know Eventbrite has privacy settings for events, including password protecting the event page.
owenconti
My friend and I were just talking about this yesterday. I was surprised when he said he couldn't find a suitable solution.
MTemer
Who needs working calendars when we have Uber.
wmli
Did you try http://doodle.com?
MTemer
I found it quite a hassle to manage a lot of events. So many e-mail exchanges, links and confusing interactions. It puts too much focus on the "confirmation" part. I couldn't find how to notify users a day before the event date but I'll keep looking. Thanks.
harimurali
I'm from the Zoho marketing team. Embarrassed at the poor impression we have left you with while trying to use our service. We'd really like to connect with you and learn where we slipped. Will be great if you can reach out to us at support@zohocalendar.com with subject "Ref: Post on HN on issues with your Calendar app".
MTemer
Don't be. Judging from all the apps I tested, making a good calendar must be a really hard problem (but I never built one myself). At least for my use case. I mean, how much money have MS spent on making the new Outlook web thing, and it doesn't even work? I even tried in another computer with a new account, to see if I was doing something wrong. That's how bad my experience was. And Google stuff isn't that much better either. The lock-in is real. The integration with Google Keep is the best thing I can say about it.

I just didn't got the confirmation e-mail. Tried several times the same day. Maybe it was a temporary problem since I tried again and was able to confirm my account.

Regarding the UI, it's just a matter of opinion. I use a lot of apps with bad UI and don't care but a calendar is something really personal and important for me that I just can't deal with something that doesn't feel natural. But my opinion shouldn't matter since I'm just an overly judgmental dev and not the 99% type of regular, business user.