Tell HN: Help I'm scared to released my new project

fuck it ship it

"What if something goes wrong? What if its broken? What if there is a security issue?"

these are genuine concerns and you should do everything you can to minimize them.

"What if no-one cares or uses it?"

this, not so much. did you have fun making it? did you learn something making it? will you learn something launching it? if you can financially afford for it not to be a big hit, and you learned and enjoyed yourself and made something you're proud of, it's not a loss.

You can't have it both ways, either no-one cares or someone will find an issue or ten. But that's just a consequence of code(?) seeing wider use, the only way around that is to not share the code at all. Which unfortunately means stagnation and wasted life in the long run. I know you're not the only one who's torn between the urge to share and the issues involved. But then I remind myself that I mostly regret things I didn't do and get on with it. Speaking of: https://github.com/andreas-gone-wild/snackis.

"If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done" - Bruce Lee.

Hope you're trying to release your project as a new business venture. Startups are things that are built upon valuable customer feedback. No one is perfect at the first time. Perfection comes over time. Build, Measure, Learn, Iterate & Succeed. All the best.

I have sites live that aren't even complete. Better than giving people a waiting list.

> What if something goes wrong? What if its broken? What if there is a security issue?

Then, you'll fix it. They found bugs you wouldn't have noticed unless you put it out there.

It doesn't necessarily mean you'll lose users. Microsoft and Google have tons of security advisories. They patch, and go on building and marketing.

> What if no-one cares or uses it?

If you don't release, you risk a perilous prospect of being the product and service that's "stealth" and never ships. People are sick of those who always play it close to the vest, spin tall tales filled with marketing buzzwords, are the next big thing, but have nothing to show for it.

By you being able to show your project, and incorporate feedback on it, you demonstrate that you can execute things and be part of the club of people who ship, not just talk.

There's a psychological hump everyone needs to get over. It's about self-esteem and failing. You're worth publicizing your own creation and getting feedback, and still getting people to check back to see how you innovate and improve upon your feedback.

The big one is whether or not people will care. Technical bugs are easy. Rejection and criticism are much harder. I've come to think that the pop wisdom of "product releases" seems to be a way people often cope with this fear...I've behaved similarly myself. Currently, my favored article is https://blog.ycombinator.com/minimum-viable-product-process/

Getting out and talking to a few people early lowers the amplitude of potential rejection and indifference because there is less psychological investment in a project or idea at an early stage. It also provides a means for empirical evidence about what people actually care about and use...and that's better than imagining because imagining often just becomes wishing.

Ship something. Good luck.