Hi everyone. Hope you are well. BentoPDF recently hit 10k stars on Github in just under 3 months of launch and I am very grateful to the community! ❤️
BentoPDF’s new version has been released. And I had implemented some of the requested feature here such as: Digital Signing of PDFs and Validation along with Email to PDF support and Deskewing of PDF. I have attached the release note link with the post. Moreover the OCR feature now performs on par with OCRMyPDF.
The reason I am making this post is gain feedback on the existing features of Bento, but most importantly Bento is going to have a Desktop version soon. Initially it will be launched for Mac users. Bento is inherently fast, but browsers and wasm have limitations, and this aims to solve it with the use of native libraries and leverage the CPU for faster processing and handling of large files efficiently.
I want to know what is the feature you use the most or is there any feature you’d like to be done that existing PDF softwares don’t do well. I am happy for any feedback! Thank you (:
Try to ignore the GH stars and other engagement numbers. Or at least try not to put focus on them in your communications. It’s a distraction for you and you are making it a distraction for your audience. GH stars are not a useful signal as they are easily gamed and bought. Maybe yours are all organic, legitimate, and a legitimate cause for personal celebration. But you are just giving false credence to them (and thereby those illegitimately gaming the system) and removing focus from your own app. I don’t think it belongs in release notes or a great way to lead your pitch here.
Most of the first half of the release notes rubs me a bit the wrong way and feels like it’s not the place for those messages. Your “Very Important Note” feels less relevant than the “Dad Joke” section (which does have potential entertainment value) and probably has the exact opposite effect than the one you intend.
My release notes are intentionally personal and opinionated. As the maintainer, I like sharing milestones, thoughts, and context with the community as part of showing how far the project has grown. I understand that style won’t appeal to everyone, but it’s a choice I’m comfortable with and I plan to keep it that way
It’s not as much the general style as the particular contents of this release. Your previous release notes did not give the bad impression this one does. Since you did ask for any feedback I let you know why I am now less likely to use or recommend the tool compared to before. The amount of text and emojis spent begging for TrustPilot reviews also contributes.
I would have been happy if you provided anything constructive. Calling it begging for reviews is certainly surprising for someone who claims the communication put them off. It’s interesting how much emphasis you place on tone and emojis for someone who says they’re less likely to engage because of them. Moreover I asked for feedback, not a character assessment. Your personal preference doesn’t change anything here, there’s nothing actionable in it, and I’m comfortable with how I communicate with the community
It was certainly not intended as a character assessment and it’s unfortunate you took it that way. I’m talking about how the release notes (and in passing your post) were written and not about you as a person or maintainer, or even the project itself.
I do hold release notes of a public project with thousands of users to a different standard than anon lemmy.world comments in a feedback thread. Is that interesting or surprising?
I believe there was actionable feedback given. You are of course free to dismiss it.