Muhammad Ali has died

Re:Muhammad Ali has died by dang on Saturday June 04, 2016 @03:08PM (#11837531)

Please don't create many obscure throwaway accounts on HN. This forum is a community. Anonymity is fine, but users should have some consistent identity that other users can relate to. Otherwise we may as well have no usernames and no community at all, and that would be an entirely different forum.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Muhammad Ali has died by Cpoll on Saturday June 04, 2016 @04:10PM (#11837771)

I don't agree with this sentiment. I've seen having a "consistent identity" get in the way of a discussion for a variety of reasons:

- Ad hominem attacks

- Disclosing hypocrisy (as a logical fallacy)

- Celebrity posters distracting from the subject

- Appeals to authority

Consistent identity is a no-brainer within the context of a single post; beyond that, there are downsides.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Muhammad Ali has died by dang on Saturday June 04, 2016 @06:33PM (#11838485)

Yes, if you list only the downsides it sounds like a bad idea.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Muhammad Ali has died by Cpoll on Sunday June 05, 2016 @10:02AM (#11840992)

You already listed the upsides. I'm taking the opposite stance, of course I'll list downsides.

In any case, HN doesn't feel like it has an individual-driven community, at least compared to Reddit. I'm hard pressed to name any users on this site. That might be more a reflection on me - I come here to read about interesting topics, and I have more interest in the message than the speaker.

Incidentally, how many HN users can you name? (I'm genuinely curious)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Muhammad Ali has died by dang on Sunday June 05, 2016 @02:15PM (#11842254)

I didn't list all the upsides, just the executive summary :) But for sure there are multiple legitimate views about how best to set up an internet forum. Nevertheless HN is set up the way I described and we're not going to change it.

Re names: No idea, but more than it would be worth taking the time to try listing. I'm the wrong person to ask, though, since it's my job to monitor HN.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Muhammad Ali has died by pavalercci on Saturday June 04, 2016 @05:15PM (#11838075)

Comical request, given the extreme anti-free speech environment of Hacker News.

[ Parent | on HN ]