The archive · Developer & Business Tools · Product decision · 2012
Hackpad's bet: realtime WYSIWYG editing would make wikis usable again
Hackpad wrapped Etherpad's realtime engine in a wiki with @-links, task lists and Dropbox; the 2012-01-17 Show HN drew 209 points and 77 comments.
Hackpad
What the business is
Hackpad was a hosted realtime wiki built on the open-source Etherpad editor, where teams wrote WYSIWYG pads with inline @-linking between pages and people, task lists, image embedding, search, email and Dropbox integration, iPhone/Android support and an OS X launcher.
How it started
Hackpad's small team built its product on the open-source Etherpad realtime editor and opened it to the world on 2012-01-17 with the Show HN headline "HackPad is the best wiki ever". The bet was legible from day one: WYSIWYG pads with realtime multi-user editing, inline @-linking that autocompletes people and pages, task lists, search, deep email integration, Dropbox file links, mobile apps and an OS X launcher — the feel of a modern document tool applied to a wiki.
What happened
The thread became a live product review. Praise was specific: multi-user editing felt smoother than Collabedit, pasting an image URL embedded it, the task list and built-in search worked, and a refactoring move could spin selected text into a linked new pad. The Etherpad designer publicly said Hackpad was the Etherpad version he recommends. But would-be corporate buyers asked where the data dump, API, plugins and on-premise install were; Hackpad answered that backups were hourly with a full HTML zip available over one HTTP request, private instances could be invite-only, and an internal jar or VM was possible if there was demand. The team also fielded bugs — iPad typing, Firefox performance, an early 504 — and fixed some mid-thread.
No ending yet — it is still running.
Background
Hackpad launched on Hacker News on 2012-01-17 with the headline "HackPad is the best wiki ever." It was a hosted realtime wiki built on the open-source Etherpad editor: WYSIWYG pads with multi-user editing, inline @-linking between pages and people, task lists, image embedding, search, email and Dropbox integration, mobile apps and an OS X launcher.
The 209-point, 77-comment thread turned into a working product review: users edited pads live, praised the realtime feel and the @-refactoring that turns selected text into a linked pad, and the Etherpad designer recommended Hackpad as the best version of the idea. Corporate commenters wanted data dumps, private instances and on-premise deployment; the team said backups were hourly with a full HTML zip over one HTTP request and that an internal VM was possible if demand showed up.
The thread showed both sides of the bet: consumers loved that a wiki could feel like a realtime document, while serious teams still measured it against Confluence and asked about data control before adopting hosted software. As of launch day the product was live and the team was fixing bugs in public, but pricing, funding and later history were not part of this record.
What has to be true
- 209 points and 77 comments on launch day, with a product people could edit inside the thread itself, gave immediate real-user signal rather than aspirational feedback.
- The Etherpad designer's endorsement certified Hackpad as the best of a category full of clones, converting skeptical commenters into tryers.
- Enterprise commenters named the exact missing pieces — data dump, invite-only groups, an on-premise jar or VM — handing the team a prioritized roadmap for paid accounts.
- Building on Etherpad let the team spend its effort on wiki structure and UX instead of realtime plumbing, which is why the product could ship so much surface area on day one.
What can be applied
Hated incumbents are a gift if you name the pain: realtime WYSIWYG editing made Hackpad feel like a doc, but buyers still asked for data control and on-prem — answer that before they ask.
Aftermath
As of 2012-01-17 Hackpad was live as a hosted realtime wiki with task lists, inline @-linking, image embedding, search, email and Dropbox integration, mobile apps and an OS X launcher, and the team was answering launch-day feedback in the Show HN thread, fixing bugs and taking requests for business accounts and private deployments. Nothing in this batch documents what happened after that date.
Sources
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card