Author here, I'll try to collect my thoughts into one comment here about why there is no auto-save.
If you implement auto-save, users will expect every click/keystroke to be saved, like how Google Docs does it. Simply adding a 1-minute timer will make people lose work in the last minute, as they switch tabs, go offline, etc. and forget about it for days, when the browser clears tab state.
The other reason is that there is no Undo-Redo implemented on MapHub. Implementing Undo properly in a web app is not trivial if you haven't designed the whole app around a time-traveling state management. It's actually a really difficult problem to solve, even though it looks simple on the surface. Combining it with real-time collaboration is even more complex. Short story: there is no Undo-Redo.
So if you don't have Undo, then Save button plays the role of making a checkpoint, trying out something, reverting if needed. With autosave this could be ruined.
Also, you write that you expect every web app to auto-save, but this is still not the universal case today and definitely wasn't the case a few years ago. I agree that most VC-backed startups with hundred-million-dollar valuations have autosave in their web apps. Again, the proper solution is to have a time-traveling diff system implemented, which can easily get really complicated with real-time multi-user collaboration. Have a look at Figma's technical blog post about this topic [1].
You might be right in saying that it's not a generation of users, but the same users being conditioned to web apps doing auto-save. I agree this is probably the case. The point of the article is this definitely wasn't the case all the time, and how I've experienced this on my side, during my 8+ years of running MapHub.
OK, fair enough, but that doesn't have to preclude autosaving.
> If you implement auto-save, users will expect every click/keystroke to be saved. [...] Simply adding a 1-minute timer will make people lose work in the last minute.
I think a nicer compromise might be a simple debounced isDirty state. If it detects any changes, wait 5 or 10 seconds. If any more changes happen in that same time, wait again (up to some sane max, like a min or few). If no further changes, create a new automatic checkpoint.
It's usually not a big deal if someone loses 10 seconds of work. It is if they lose a few hours.
> Save button plays the role of making a checkpoint, trying out something, reverting if needed. With autosave this could be ruined.
Only if you make the autosave overwrite user checkpoints. Can't they produce their own separate bin of autosave checkpoints? Word has done that for decades, as have video games.
The user can choose to revert to "Blahblah save (10/31/24)" or "Autosave (3 min ago)".
Even if it is a generational thing, it's also just good UX IMO.
Disclaimer: I am not familiar with the product, so created a MapHub account just to try the exact experience. I usually mostly work with hiking maps and planning hikes, so my viewpoint might be off.
I feel the base disconnect is MapHub having very few indication of a workflow: one can create a new map and start working on it in a matter of seconds, adding markers etc. is also relatively quick, with help on the right panel guiding through the option, so it all feels natural.
In contrast the Save button is next to the zoom in/zoom out button, so outside of the tools area, neither in the right or left blocks where one would focus when editing.
The button is also greyed out when starting a map, and will always be visibly present, so after a few minutes I think we learn to ignore it as a visual element. In particular I never use the zoom in/out button (right now I straight pinch on the screen, but I guess touchpad pinch to zoom also works?)
I feel like the UI is really optimized for being out of the way and not having to think about versions. If autosaves are not an option, I think the save button would benefit from being a more "actiony" button and perhaps have a more prominent sibling in one of the tools or editing panel (and probably not just "save" but "save this map" or "take snapshot" or something like that ?)
My favorite map app has a big dark "Save" in a permanent footer inside the edit lists, and I better understand the reason now.
If you implement auto-save, users will expect every click/keystroke to be saved, like how Google Docs does it. Simply adding a 1-minute timer will make people lose work in the last minute, as they switch tabs, go offline, etc. and forget about it for days, when the browser clears tab state.
The other reason is that there is no Undo-Redo implemented on MapHub. Implementing Undo properly in a web app is not trivial if you haven't designed the whole app around a time-traveling state management. It's actually a really difficult problem to solve, even though it looks simple on the surface. Combining it with real-time collaboration is even more complex. Short story: there is no Undo-Redo.
So if you don't have Undo, then Save button plays the role of making a checkpoint, trying out something, reverting if needed. With autosave this could be ruined.
Also, you write that you expect every web app to auto-save, but this is still not the universal case today and definitely wasn't the case a few years ago. I agree that most VC-backed startups with hundred-million-dollar valuations have autosave in their web apps. Again, the proper solution is to have a time-traveling diff system implemented, which can easily get really complicated with real-time multi-user collaboration. Have a look at Figma's technical blog post about this topic [1].
You might be right in saying that it's not a generation of users, but the same users being conditioned to web apps doing auto-save. I agree this is probably the case. The point of the article is this definitely wasn't the case all the time, and how I've experienced this on my side, during my 8+ years of running MapHub.
[1] https://www.figma.com/blog/how-figmas-multiplayer-technology...