Unlike some, I have never sworn off HN and left in a huff.
HN is where I learned about the drawbacks of where internet tech was going. Many of us started with a desire to build sticky sites and apps, but as some startups mastered this, it became obvious that this was two-edged sword.
I miss PG being on, but I completely understand why he left. It got to the point where he couldn't say something as simple as "The sky is blue" without a dozen negative and nitpicking replies. No fun.
pg isn't shy of (seemingly) speaking his mind on twitter though.
pg is one of an extremely small number of high-follower folks I follow on Twitter. It's mostly because I miss his input here.
I love watching smart people discuss stuff (not pointlessly argue) so when I started here, I would post any kind of question that I thought would be interesting to see like-minded (tech) folks discuss. Things like "Is there a God?" I'd also engage with folks who had differing views in order to try to learn from them.
I remember one time I asked some kind of question that set folks off. PG came on and said something like "Why don't you guys find out more about why he's asking that question instead of trashing him so much?" (My paraphrasing and poor memory)
I think he was still asking that question when he finally left. I don't think he ever got a good answer.
pg and I probably disagree on a ton of things, but he seems interested in sharing and learning, not playing the emotional manipulation game. That's why I follow him there.
HN homepage on the day it launched (Oct 9, 2006)
https://news.ycombinator.com/front?day=2006-10-9
I've been a power lurker for years and had a few accounts. I can't imagine my life without HN. I'm here almost everyday, at least once a day. What I'm getting at is this ; picture coming here and finding literally 0 submissions [0] ... This was a somewhat surreal and shocking experience, like seeing the completely deserted downtown at the beginning of the pandemic. If the site just went away it wouldn't be as bad as this. Picture showing up to the bar, work, or whatever and no one else is there. Like they're all dead or something. I don't usually feel lonely, but I would on that day. I could quite possibly cry or have a panic attack or something.
I came to realize HN is my third place [1] and it has become possibly even more important to me during this goddamn pandemic. Thank you all for coming here. I love you guys.
Pretty much the same here, except you have me by almost exactly a year. But yeah, HN has been the one constant site that I visit more than any other. And probably the site I'm most "active" on other than Facebook.
It's also amazing how the spirit and the quality stay more or less the same here. I guess not all Eternal September effects are alike.
True. That said, I definitely feel like I recognize some changes in the prevailing zeitgeist here. For example, there seems to be less startup ecosystem oriented discussion, and when there is, it often has a more negative tone. Actually, I feel like there's more negativity in general, than in the days of yore. And while others argue the exact opposite of what I'm about to say, I really feel like the overall spirit of the site has drifted from away from a libertarian / pro-business / be-suspicious-of-the-government vibe, to more anti-business / pro-government one. It's subjective to be sure, but it sure feels that way to me. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is, I suppose, relative to one's pre-existing biases and viewpoints...
Still, regardless of any of that, the S/N ratio of the conversations here remains fairly high most of the time, and I still learn a lot from participating in these conversations. So here's hoping for another 13 years of this crazy orange and tan website...
Love it here. It does seem like the discussion here has become quite a bit less technical, but I think that is really just due to a de-emphasis on the important of low-level tech understanding in the startup space.
I thought the moderation would chase me away, especially with the reduction in technical content (after a long period of X in javascript threads overwhelming the site.) I was wrong, it's still nice, it's just more mainstream. It's the same stories that are trending on google news, just debated and discussed by smart people with grammar and civility fetishes. That's not actually bad.
Every time I think about comparing HN to Reddit, I am jarred back to reality by comments that start with "I work in [extremely specific field relevant to article]" or "I did [X project] with [Y person at center of discussion]." People show a different face depending on the group culture, and HN just draws a different humor out of people than Reddit does. The same person could be very serious on HN, and then turn around and write looney jokes on Reddit.
There are certain areas of Reddit that are informative and moderated to maintain a high degree of quality. I think they often deal with a shared hobby, profession, or pursuit.
unalone on Nov 6, 2009 in "Ask HN: Is it just me, or are HN comments becoming..."
I'm at a year and a half. Hacker News is turning into Reddit. It's following the exact same path, albeit thankfully slower, and the causes behind that path—influx of users, need for attention, karma lust—aren't causes that Paul is looking to fix.
Reddit's not the worst thing in the world, but make no mistake, we're headed there.
The earliest linked:
_csoo on Apr 17, 2007 - Since when is Startup News synonymous with reddit?
That Guideline with the links suggests "Please don't post comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. It's a semi-noob illusion, as old as the hills."
Thanks Dang
Thanks pg and dang!
I think "the medium is the message" applies here. The minimalist design is a huge part of HN's success. That and the excellent moderation.
It's also amazing how the spirit and the quality stay more or less the same here. I guess not all Eternal September effects are alike.