>> We've adjusted the dupe detector to reject fewer URLs. If a story hasn't had significant attention in about the last year, reposts are ok. That's been the policy for a while, but we've brought the software closer to it. It will still reject reposts for a few hours, though, to avoid stampedes. Allowing reposts is a way of giving high-quality stories multiple chances at making the front page. Please do this tastefully and don't overdo it.
>> When reposting, please don't delete the earlier post. Deletion is for things that shouldn't have been posted in the first place, such as if you regret having said something publicly.
>> When a story is a duplicate—that is, has had significant attention on HN in the last year or so—it's helpful to post a comment linking to the previous major thread, so users and/or moderators can flag the dupe. In addition, when a URL isn't the best source for a given story, it's helpful to post a better URL in the thread. We often see those and change the posts to use them.
Here's a recent comment about what might count as significant attention: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13110615#13141500
> jsnell's correct, and I'll add that reposts are ok on HN if an article hasn't had significant attention yet. 23 points and no comments (which a previous submission had) would normally count as significant attention, but we sometimes relax the criteria when an article is substantive and seems likely to interest the community.
> When we put stories in the second-chance pool (described at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11662380 and earlier posts linked from there), we try to pick the original submission as the one that reaps the benefit.
The guidelines ask that these type of questions are sent to them rather than posted in threads. But I feel guilty about saying (no matter how politely) "email the mods". It feels like I'm dumping work on them.