I was rather outspoken about Tweetbot when it came out, I’m sweeping that under the rug as history, call me names if you want.

[Federico Viticci has written up a nice review of Netbot](http://www.macstories.net/reviews/netbot-tweetbot-reborn-for-app-net/) — which is essentially a working version of Tweetbot for App.net. I wasn’t on the beta (for obvious reasons), but I did download it to check it out.

It’s exactly what it is billed to be, but it’s not for me. That’s not to say Netbot is bad, but [here’s what Stephen Hackett said](https://alpha.app.net/ismh/post/632916):

>Netbot is nice, but this is weird. Think I might prefer different app experiences for different services.

[Robb Lewis has a similar feeling](https://alpha.app.net/rmlewisuk/post/633544):

>Huh. I keep forgetting which app I’m in.

That’s a problem — I think — because the two services are hardly the same. Say what you will about the value of either, but it is hard to deny that they are identical — yet Netbot and Tweetbot are pretty much identical.

I don’t much care what app you use, but I will say that I find Netbot to be more of a “hedging our bets” move — not that this is a bad move — than a true let’s see what we can do *differently* for a new service. I had actually hoped that Tapbots would come out with a client that was radically different from Tweetbot, so part of this may be my disappointment there.

Anyway, I did my natural thing and goaded out some responses between my favorite client, Felix, and the blogger’s wet dream, Netbot. [You can read all the responses to it here](https://alpha.app.net/benbrooks/post/633816), to get an idea of the sentiment surrounding the two (spoiler: I am in the minority). ((Keep in mind, I naturally bring out the anger in people, don’t hold them to nasty remarks.))

Here’s my theory: those that embrace Netbot are those that *want* App.net to replace/duplicate/be Twitter ([perhaps the same people that do these things](http://brooksreview.net/2012/10/whining/)). That’s not a bad thing, it’s just a *thing*.