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Comment by chris_st | Hacker News Reader

> 122 boards...If there has been a slowdown, Benchoff nailed the reason: poor documentation.

I think that this speaks to a problem in the software development world as well. There are N! new AWS services, several times that new things from other groups, and... hardly any tutorials and cookbooks, for those of us who need a bit more help than just references.

The problem, I think, is that the people who are competent enough to figure something out, and then capable enough to explain it well, are spread pretty thin due to all these riches.

SO, if you're one of those incredibly awesome people who do such thinks, THANKS! I know I really need it.

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> The problem, I think, is that the people who are competent enough to figure something out, and then capable enough to explain it well, are spread pretty thin due to all these riches.

> SO, if you're one of those incredibly awesome people who do such thinks, THANKS! I know I really need it.

I don't think that these people are that thinly spread. But who is willing to pay for all the documentation? Doing this for free has often a huge opportunity cost.

> But who is willing to pay for all the documentation?

Anybody who wishes to be successful. RPI would not be as successful had it not been for the ton of materials on it online, be it by the manufacturer, or the tinkerers. Any newcomers wanting to de-throne RPI must differentiate themselves; good documentation is simply expected at this point.

> I don't think that these people are that thinly spread.

There are an awful lot, it's true. However, there are a lot of projects (including a great many AWS services) that just don't have anything but reference material. A big part of this is how quickly new things come out.

> But who is willing to pay for all the documentation?

It's interesting to see people like Wes Bos make a living off of doing excellent tutorials... so, evidently, some people at least are willing to pay.

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