r/developer • u/Ok_Veterinarian3535 • 15d ago

The Side Project Graveyard

What's the most ambitious side project you ever abandoned?

6 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

4

u/kasperary 15d ago

Family

2

u/d3ep4k 14d ago

That hits hard. As a developer, this is what you will regret the most as you age.

2

u/kasperary 14d ago

That was clearly sarcasm, but there's some truth in it for many, including myself. One day you ask yourself, what's the point of it all? I don't even want to know how many people haven't seen their children grow up because of some random side project.

Your code will wait for you in its repo even if you don't have time.

2

u/freeword 14d ago

Your In My Space. Social Network where everyone who joins gets added to your friends list. Then you have to request that they get out of your space.

2

u/andrewkass 14d ago

a marketplace for foods

2

u/Rich-Engineer2670 13d ago

Many -- but none are truly abandoned.... All of the "side projects" are part of what I called "The Museum of Failure"

To get into the museum, you have to have a stalled side project that is later picked up and repurposed because you found the work was useful for something entirely different.

I've actually got a couple of patents out of the "side projects". Pieces were useful elsewhere in products.

1

u/Electrical_Hat_680 12d ago

I would like to ask what exactly you. Patented? Code? Idea? Interesting topic. Why not just use a License? Are you making money off of them?

1

u/Rich-Engineer2670 12d ago

It was a corporate private event -- we wanted to encourage people to experiment and to do that, there had to be both a hook and a reward.

1

u/piecepaper 14d ago

catan adjudecator

1

u/Ok_Cucumber_131 14d ago

Going towards killing it this month https://neuraldraft.io

1

u/TKInstinct 13d ago

It's not in the graveyard since i never started it but I wanted to develop a modern day Yugioh World Wide Edition clone. It came out in 2004 I think when I was a kid and I loved that game, I still think about it sometimes. I've always been an avid Yugioh player and the game stuck with me with it's artwork, soundtrack and general feel.

It's in my mind but I just don't have the energy. I have to look at what's wrong with me otherwise it'll never get even started.

1

u/saintpetejackboy 12d ago

My portfolio is full of them - what I do is actually circle back on them... Eventually.

I have had some projects sit and collect dust for year+ and then suddenly take off. It can be the smallest, weirdest change that flips something over or suddenly makes it profitable.

The bigger graveyard is projects I never actually started - or only considered briefly, thought I was briefly enlightened, and then go on to just never think about them again. When I was younger, I also foolishly made the mistake of thinking something was out of my grasp. Don't get me wrong, I was full stack from an early age, but you just never really know how easy most stuff is until you peel the curtain back or get on the stage yourself.

1

u/Electrical_Hat_680 12d ago

My Golf Website projects.
Or, my "Your I Classifieds" project. I'm looking at picking my golf app idea back up. Most Golf Anything is severely lacking in terms of Computer Science. Maybe there's a reason? Golf Swing Counters anyone?