From 31fcbce4252cec5c45064bca52ea28f020c06e23 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Scott Scoble Date: Sat, 9 May 2026 02:09:22 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?docs:=20Show=20HN=20launch=20day=20operations?= =?UTF-8?q?=20checklist=20=E2=80=94=20minute-by-minute=20runbook=20for=20M?= =?UTF-8?q?ay=2012-13?= MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit --- docs/show-hn-launch-checklist.md | 260 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 260 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/show-hn-launch-checklist.md diff --git a/docs/show-hn-launch-checklist.md b/docs/show-hn-launch-checklist.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1996f7a --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/show-hn-launch-checklist.md @@ -0,0 +1,260 @@ +# Show HN Launch Day Operations Checklist +**For: Scott Scoble | Launch: May 12 (Monday) or May 13 (Tuesday), 2026** +**Prepared: May 9, 2026, 2:04 AM PT (Ventures 🚀)** + +--- + +## TL;DR: What Scott Actually Does + +1. Pick Monday or Tuesday morning +2. Run the 5-minute pre-flight check below +3. Paste the Show HN post +4. Watch comments for the first hour — use the comment playbook +5. At +4 hours, cross-post to Reddit + share link on Discord/Slack groups +6. At +24 hours, check if it hit front page and decide next steps + +--- + +## PRE-LAUNCH: Day Before (Sunday or Monday night) + +### 5-Minute Pre-Flight Check + +Run these in a terminal: + +```bash +# 1. ALL LINKS WORK +curl -sI https://speckl.scoble.me | head -1 # → 200 OK +curl -sI https://os.scoble.me/forgejo/sscoble/speckl | head -1 # → 200 +curl -sI https://codeberg.org/sscoble/speckl | head -1 # → 200 + +# 2. COMPILER IS STABLE +cd ~/speckl/compiler && npm test # → 41/41 passing + +# 3. DEMO PAGE WORKS +curl -sI https://speckl.scoble.me/demo/index.html | head -1 # → 200 OK + +# 4. WHITEPAPER IS ACCESSIBLE +wc -l ~/speckl/docs/whitepaper-v2.md # → ~1,300+ lines + +# 5. BLOG POSTS RENDER (optional — pick your 2 best for linking) +# Blog posts: ~/speckl/docs/blog-*.md +``` + +If Storj is still down: **abort launch**. Without the landing page, the post loses all credibility. Scott must fix `rclone config` or republish the landing page another way first. + +### Choose Your Timing + +| Option | Day | Post Time PT | UTC | Why | +|--------|-----|-------------|-----|-----| +| **A (best)** | Tue May 13 | 1:00 AM PT | 8:00 AM UTC | Catches EU morning + US late night | +| **B** | Tue May 13 | 6:00 AM PT | 1:00 PM UTC | Catches US morning, EU afternoon | +| **C** | Mon May 12 | 6:00 AM PT | 1:00 PM UTC | Monday is slightly worse than Tuesday | + +**Recommendation:** Option A if Scott can pre-schedule or wake up early. Option B if he wants a normal morning. + +### HN Account Check +- Log into HN. Verify karma ≥ 2 (minimum to post Show HN). +- If karma < 2: Reply to 2-3 comments on front page stories to get karma. Takes 10 minutes. +- Bookmark: https://news.ycombinator.com/submit + +--- + +## LAUNCH DAY: T-5 Minutes + +### Open These Tabs + +1. **HN Submit:** https://news.ycombinator.com/submit +2. **Comment Playbook:** Find it at `~/speckl/docs/show-hn-comment-playbook.md` (open in editor or browser) +3. **Your HN Threads page:** https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=YOUR_USERNAME (to monitor comments) +4. **Announcement post source:** `~/speckl/docs/show-hn-announcement.md` + +### Final Sanity Check (30 seconds) +- Title starts with "Show HN:" ✅ +- Landing page resolves ✅ +- GitHub/code link is a real repo (not just docs) ✅ +- Post body has actual code examples or links to them ✅ +- Whitepaper link works ✅ + +--- + +## T+0: POST IT + +Go to https://news.ycombinator.com/submit + +**Title:** +``` +Show HN: Speckl — Write specs like TLA+, compile to runnable TypeScript and WASM +``` + +**URL:** +``` +https://speckl.scoble.me +``` +(Link to the landing page — it has links to the repo, whitepaper, demo. HN prefers clean landing pages over direct repo links for Show HN.) + +**Text:** (optional — only if using self-post format) +Paste the body from `show-hn-announcement.md`. If HN's URL field is used (recommended), add the first paragraph as the first comment instead. + +### Immediately After Posting: +- Copy the post URL (it'll be `https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=XXXXXXX`) +- Save it — you'll need it for cross-posting + +--- + +## FIRST HOUR: The Golden Window (T+0 to T+60) + +This is when HN's ranking algorithm is most sensitive to engagement. Every upvote and comment thread counts quadruple. + +### What To Do: +1. **Reply to comments within 5 minutes.** Speed signals "builder is present." +2. **Use the comment playbook** (`show-hn-comment-playbook.md`) — it has responses to 14 common objections pre-written. Copy-paste-adapt. Do NOT write responses from scratch under time pressure. +3. **Be human.** If someone says "cool project," say thanks and ask if they have a use case. If someone finds a bug, thank them and log it. +4. **Don't get defensive.** Someone WILL call Speckl "another TLA+ clone." Use the pre-written response. Don't argue. Move on. +5. **Upvote helpful comments** from others — it keeps the thread active. + +### Do NOT: +- Ask friends to upvote (HN detects voting rings) +- Post multiple top-level comments yourself +- Link to "buy now" or pricing (there is none — keep it pure Show HN) +- Engage with obvious trolls. One polite reply, then ignore. + +### Monitor Metrics: +- Upvote count (refresh every 10 min) +- Comment count +- Position on /show or /new vs /news (front page) + +--- + +## T+1 TO T+4: Sustain Engagement + +- Check comments every 30 min +- Reply to new questions using the playbook +- If post is on /show but not /news: normal. Show HN needs ~10+ upvotes in first 2 hours to graduate to /news. + +### First Cross-Post: Reddit + +**Only if the post has 15+ upvotes and positive comments.** A dead post doesn't need amplification. + +Post to r/programming (2.5M members): + +**Title:** Speckl — Write specs like TLA+, compile to TypeScript and WASM (open source, Show HN'd today) + +**Link:** Your HN post URL (not the landing page — Redditors want to see the HN discussion) + +**Flair:** Use if available. + +--- + +## T+4 TO T+24: Extended Monitoring + +- Check comments every 2-3 hours +- If post hits front page (top 30 on /news): engage actively with ALL comments — this is your moment +- If post stalls at 5-15 upvotes and sinks: don't despair. Bookmark the HN post URL. You can reuse the announcement for a future Show HN in 3-6 months with "v0.3" or a major milestone. + +### Additional Cross-Posts (Only If Traction Is Good): + +| Platform | When | Post Type | +|----------|------|-----------| +| r/Compilers (28K) | T+4h | Link to HN discussion | +| r/rust (300K) | T+4h | WASM angle — "compiles to WASM from formal specs" | +| Twitter/Bluesky | T+1h | Link to HN post + screenshot of compiler output | +| Lobsters | T+2h | Submit as "Speckl: a spec language that compiles to TypeScript + WASM" | + +--- + +## T+24: Debrief + +### If It Hit Front Page (top 30 on /news): +- 🎉 You have developer credibility. Now: + 1. Submit whitepaper to arXiv TODAY (ride the momentum) + 2. Cross-post to all platforms listed above + 3. Email the formal methods communities (tlaplus group, FME, etc.) + 4. Consider a follow-up Show HN in 2-4 weeks with "Speckl v0.3: now compiling real-world state machines" + +### If It Got Moderate Traction (10-30 upvotes, some comments): +- Valuable signal. Extract every comment as product feedback. +- Update the FAQ/landing page based on common questions. +- Re-submit after a major compiler milestone (pre/postcondition support, record types, etc.) + +### If It Got No Traction (< 10 upvotes): +- Show HN timing is fickle. Does NOT mean the project is bad. +- Check: was the title good? Was the landing page slow/down? Did you post at a bad time? +- Try again in 3-6 months with a substantially improved product. +- Don't delete the post — HN doesn't let you. Just move on. + +--- + +## CONTINGENCY: If Something Breaks + +| Problem | Response | +|---------|----------| +| **Landing page down** | Post a comment immediately: "Landing page is struggling — here's the direct repo link." Link to Forgejo. | +| **Compiler tests failing** | Don't mention it unless asked. Fix it after the post dies down. | +| **Someone finds a real bug** | "Great catch — filed. Here's the issue link." Link to marcus/engineering. Shows you take bugs seriously. | +| **Troll/spam comments** | Flag. Do not engage beyond one polite reply. HN mods are active. | +| **Post flagged as spam** | Email hn@ycombinator.com. Explain it's open source, no commercial product. They unflag quickly. | +| **Storj goes down mid-launch** | You're hosed for landing page links. Post the Forgejo repo link as a comment. Redirect the landing page to a GitHub Pages mirror (if you set one up in advance). | + +--- + +## SEEDED QUESTIONS (Optional — Use Sparingly) + +If you have 1-2 trusted friends who can post natural-sounding questions, pick from these: + +1. "How does provenance tracking work in the compiler? Do you embed hashes in the artifacts?" + → Use Response 4 from the playbook. + +2. "What made you choose to generate both TypeScript AND WASM instead of picking one?" + → Use Response 10 from the playbook. + +Do NOT fabricate fake accounts. HN detects this and it's worse than no engagement. + +--- + +## Post-Launch: What Ships Next + +Regardless of Show HN outcome, the compiler needs these fixes before it's "real": + +1. **engineering#9:** Parser must capture `precondition:` / `postcondition:` blocks in action bodies +2. **engineering#11:** TypeScript generator must emit type aliases for record declarations (`Transfer`, `LogEntry`) +3. **engineering#10 (if exists):** Host-side record boxing + `in` operator for WASM + +These are the blockers between "cool demo" and "usable tool." Show HN traction helps motivate these fixes; no traction just means they take longer. + +--- + +## Quick Reference Card + +``` +┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ +│ SHOW HN LAUNCH — SPEEDRUN │ +│ │ +│ Day Before: │ +│ ☐ 5-min pre-flight (curl landing, test compiler) │ +│ ☐ Storj is up? (if not, ABORT) │ +│ ☐ HN karma ≥ 2? │ +│ │ +│ T-5 min: │ +│ ☐ Open HN submit + comment playbook + threads page │ +│ │ +│ T+0: │ +│ ☐ Paste title + URL + body │ +│ ☐ Save post URL │ +│ │ +│ T+0 to T+60 (GOLDEN HOUR): │ +│ ☐ Reply within 5 min using playbook │ +│ ☐ Monitor upvote count every 10 min │ +│ ☐ Be human, don't argue, don't astroturf │ +│ │ +│ T+4h: │ +│ ☐ Cross-post to Reddit (if 15+ upvotes) │ +│ ☐ Share on Discord/Slack/Twitter │ +│ │ +│ T+24h: │ +│ ☐ Debrief: front page / moderate / dead │ +│ ☐ Act based on outcome │ +│ │ +│ CONTINGENCY: If landing page dies → link to repo │ +│ If flagged → email hn@ycombinator │ +└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ +```