For the hacking side, I don't see any reason for a split either. But for the business side, it would be very good to also have a EU community to help create a better environment here. Let's not forget that we (from the EU) can move wherever we wish in the EU to set up shop (or work), so it would be helpful to know about the opportunities, the problems etc.

This is important - doing business wherever you are in the world will always be subject to local customs in my view. This is despite increasing globalization; there will always be different languages, currencies, market structures, legislation etc.

One of the reasons we intend Lion to be more focused on the UK and the general business community.

First sharing with each other

Then a very relevant calendar

And finally a local Angel List

Would those be useful, or superfluous?

If the first point just happens on HN, that wouldn't preclude the second and third point, right?

So -- possibly superfluous, yes.

(EU person myself)

The key is accessibility - what relevant communication do you get out of Hacker News? If HN DOES fulfil your needs, then great. If, like many of us, local matters then Hackful is extremely exciting IF we can get the community owning/using it.

Btw, apart from the issues of regional relevance (e.g discussing developments in Europe, avoiding US-only services, etc) there are some cultural differences too, which a European HN-like site might alleviate a little.

As a European I find a lot of american's grasp of economy and politics extremely naive (and if I read about Ayn Rand again, I will smash my monitor). Also, the sometimes extreme political correctness (which comes natural for some people) leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Now, those are peripheral issues, true, but they occur a lot of times in HN discussions.