65% of Hacker News Posts Have Negative Sentiment, and They Outperform

Re:65% of Hacker News Posts Have Negative Sentiment, and The... by josefresco on Tuesday January 06, 2026 @10:38AM (#46513630)

I went through a similar process recently mostly by hand and found the same result. After blocking negative vibes, my only "subs" were intentionally "wholesome" subs like animals/feel good news etc.

>also revealed how boring it is without the kind of algorithmic reaction seeking content.

I also found this but realized this is a good thing(!) if your goal is to reduce Reddit usage.

That being said, a little negativity might be warranted in order to be a part of the discussion. Otherwise you're just opting out completely.

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Re:65% of Hacker News Posts Have Negative Sentiment, and The... by california-og on Tuesday January 06, 2026 @11:35AM (#46514536)

I also found it a very good thing. After the API use ban, and losing my blocklist, I couldn't go back to browsing normal reddit anymore and was finally able to quit after 10+ years. And, it has made me very resistant to joining or doomscrolling any other social media too. I think the hn model is decent because it doesn't optimize for engagement but for intellectual curiosity, whether it's positive or negative, which leads to mostly earnest and interesting discussion.

[ Parent | on HN ]