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Comment by bpatrianakos | Hacker News Reader

Wow, please don't be discouraged by all the negativity. Sure there are plugins and scripts to do this but I, like you, don't like installing many plugins and I'd use this so rarely that I'd forget where the script was by the time I needed it. So having this bookmarked for those odd occasions when I'd use it is the perfect solution.

Furthermore I'd say the current comments exemplify why many like myself no longer share or comment much on HN these days. Say what you will but the quality of discussions is devolving into a big who-can-act-more-jaded-and-know-it-all-ish contest. I'd be willing to bet there are just tons of people who'd want something like this. It's not about "oh there are better solutions" or "more elegant" solutions. It comes down to personal preference and tastes. For every person who's too cool for a browser based solutions there are ten more who'd rather have this than a plugin but don't say anything and just use it.

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First, THANK YOU!

Second, yeah... some of the tone seems to be harsh but at the same time the comments do have some valid criticisms in them. Some people DO prefer scripts and hand-coded approaches... but like You & I, some people don't. So, I take it with a grain of salt. (I now appreciate that phrase a little more).

Another demographic I kept in mind aside from coders... is people like my former roommate. She doesn't even know what javascript is and would want a way to just simply check if tickets for her favorite festival finally went on sale (ie. Coachella sold out in 5 minutes this year and she spent a lot of refreshing trying to check on it) so that's also a demographic I was aiming to help.

With all that said... It's not like I'm releasing a product I spent hundreds of hours or hundreds of dollars on, so I'm not entirely crushed if nobody finds it useful. At the same time, it's nice to see somebody else DOES find it useful so I really appreciate the positive feedback.

I hope it gets a few bookmarks and helps some people out. I know my old roommate already has it bookmarked. =)

Most people don't even know what a browser is, let alone how to use plug-ins, so this approach should be better for 99% of people. Great job and great regular solution to a regular problem.

That's true. I said 'browser' to a client on the phone the other day and they asked me what that was. I then had to correct myself and say "Internet Explorer". ;)

Jokes aside... Thank you!

I'm guessing that people who don't know what a browser is don't have a need for such an esoteric tool that enables time-sensitive action.

A bookmarklet containing JS would be exactly what you described.

I like the idea of the OP, but using an iframe is inherently set up for failure.

Reasonable questions a 'non techie' might have: why can't I use this with site X? 'Well, site X blocks I frames.' What's an iframe? Also why can't I use this with site X?

But when it does work, this is simpler than a bookmarklet. I wouldn't bother with the bookmarklet because it is rare that I need this. But I hope I remember this url next time I need something auto-reloaded. Since its name is similar to letmegooglethatforyou, there is a good chance I will remember.

i may have slightly piggybacked off the name of that website, hoping it would be a little easier to remember.

This is true. A bookmarklet would be nice. But, I am not pinterest (who distributes a bookmarklet) or david walsh or anybody that gets tons of traffic so a bookmarklet that I distributed myself would just get lost in the mix... and that wouldn't help anybody.

I also wanted something that had some UI and a little control (ie. the ability to change the timing).

It's not perfect. I know. And you're right... People who know nothing about code, also know nothing about iframes, so there's that.

I'll have to come up with a solution for the iframe issue down the line. Maybe I'll distribute a bookmarklet on this site? =)

> bookmarklet. If you could detect sites that block your I frame, offering the bookmarklet as an alternative is probably the best way to do it.

That's the best 'business case' for changing your approach.

I agree. I'm not really trying to launch a product or make a business out of it, but this would be useful.

I'm thinking my plan of attack would be to check if the sites who blocked the iframes were sending back specific headers that i could detect, then if those headers were detected, i could do a little javascript trickery to show something like "this website does not allow... blah blah blah" and then provide a download link to refresh that website via a bookmarklet.

With that said, I'm not trying to piss anybody off or cause any sys admin nightmares by having tons of people refresh their websites... Idk, I'll revisit the idea when I get there.

Thanks for the suggestion!

How does pointing out non-trivial shortcomings and flaws in implementation equate to being "who-can-act-more-jaded-and-know-it-all-ish?"

The app has issues. There are limits to its usability. There are methods that circumvent these issues that are worth pursuing. Mentioning these things is constructive and worthwhile.

I'm sick of people who refuse to acknowledge the value of criticism.

I'm the guy who made this and I've appreciated every piece of feedback whether blunt, harsh, positive or not. I agree that the app does have issues, though I don't feel right calling it an app. Hootsuite is an app. Klout is an app. This is a 2 hour project that just happened to get some attention.

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