Products · Product
Visual SourceSafe
Raised as a usability problem by 9 people on Hacker News over 9 years (2018–2026), in 7 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Forced check-out locks files before editing, so users work around itUnreviewed
20182026- Defaults to exclusive checkout, so one person's checked-out file blocks everyone else from editing it2025-04-08
- Files stay locked for others if the person forgets to check them in2023-10-26
- Forced check-out before editing made files locked and frustrating, so users worked around it2021-09-27
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 9 complaints
- Multi-file commits partially apply on conflict, and permanent delete erases file history2026-07-16
- Defaults to exclusive checkout, so one person's checked-out file blocks everyone else from editing it2025-04-08
- Awkward to jump between branches, with constant merge headaches2024-03-04
- Locking the centralized repo caused painful headaches for developers2024-03-04
- Viewing history of a large folder never completes, and the tool is slow and clunky2024-03-04
- Files stay locked for others if the person forgets to check them in2023-10-26
- Forced check-out before editing made files locked and frustrating, so users worked around it2021-09-27
- Repository corrupts itself randomly, forcing restores from backup2020-12-15
- Developers constantly check in blank commits, possibly due to the tool2018-05-10