When I decided to join Hashnode, I did some research for the project that I'm working on. Hashnode has the API that I want, I can fetch the data of my articles on this platform via GrapQL and post it on my Blazor Webassembly without the risk of losing or exposing my API key. You can do more with the API but that is all I need for my personal GitHub pages blog project.

However, like every agent Smith, it wanted me to be hooked to be controlled. The first thing it asked me while I'm trying to create my account is to follow some random authors that I don't know. That is a part of the process and I did it just to finish and then unfollow that author later.

I understand, it is a tackle to grow the community of Hashnode. However, people like me will find a way to work around it. I don't know how long the platform will last but it has the GitHub backup as a safety net. GitHub is strong and not goes away anytime soon as it kinda becoming an industry standard. Look at the developers' CV, it is missing something if it does not have a GitHub link on it.

People recommended a book called Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products Book by Nir Eyal I will read it when I have time. The way Hashnode force user to follow an author to finish the signup process, I believe it is not listed in the book. So stop it, find another way.