Re:Facebook going down meant more than just a social network...
by joconde on Tuesday October 05, 2021 @09:09AM
(#28758882)
The people who make Slashdot a cesspool probably pushed the reasonable ones out, and the refuge for these is HN. The same could probably happen here at some point, but people who want a civil forum could simply move elsewhere if that happens.
It helps that something like HN can be easily duplicated, so there will probably always be a space like HN where interesting and civil discussions happen.
Re:Facebook going down meant more than just a social network...
by KineticLensman on Tuesday October 05, 2021 @02:23PM
(#28763459)
> The primary difference IMHO is dang.
I certainly agree that dang's moderation is excellent and contributes to the uniqueness of HN. But "+5 Funny" on Slashdot was a big driver in the other direction, rewarding the endless hot grits and Cowboy Neal humour, which usually drowned out more sophisticated comments.
Re:Facebook going down meant more than just a social network...
by jcims on Tuesday October 05, 2021 @02:44PM
(#28763767)
Totally agree. I think the intent was to let people focus on the types of comment they want, but it just ended up gamifying moderation.
Which reminds me of another HN feature that I think is material to its ability to sustain its culture:
- Private vote counts
- dang’s moderation and example
- no images
- no intentional sub-cultures
- smaller audience
- topical
- charmingly ugly
- a generally invested community that appreciates this is a special outcome
The interesting thing to me is that Slashdot shares many of these attributes, has a relatively sophisticated moderation feature and is a cesspool. It feels like a ship adrift in the Caribbean and the fourth generation of rats born on the vessel are at war.
The primary difference IMHO is dang. Anytime I think about the overall quality of HN, his efforts bubble to the surface of my mind as the primary causal factor.