News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

ldigas

Re:We Are Destroying Software on Saturday February 08, 2025 @01:59PM (#42985243)
I wonder in comparison what had more impact, a software made in the 80s still used today, or an app that will be replaced in a year, with an added note of "I don't know why I'm using it at all".
Re:What has a 1 in a million chance? on Monday January 08, 2024 @04:02AM (#38909657)
“Scientists have calculated that the chances of something so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one. But magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.” ― Terry Pratchett, Mort
Re:The Economist's Style Guide [pdf] on Monday April 05, 2021 @08:12PM (#26706386)
No, same here. The document above is definitely truncated.
Re:The Economist's Style Guide [pdf] on Monday April 05, 2021 @08:10PM (#26706360)
Thia is an incomplete document - a quick comparison with its own Table of contents proves it.

Full, but perhaps not the current edition, can be found and downloaded on

https://pdfroom.com/books/the-economist-style-guide/kLg8pP1M...

Re:Dear Stack Exchange, Inc. on Monday October 07, 2019 @06:48AM (#21179341)
So are the users (giving their time), both more and less experienced ones. But I would rather have a forum with a duplicate or two, than a forum where you cannot ask (a different question) because it is constantly closed off as a duplicate - sometimes in the time while you are writing an explanation of how it is different than the other one - by a mod who hasn't taken the time to understand the difference. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

And while I agree that some amount of moderation is necessary, it has long ago crossed that limit.

Mods should moderate in moderation, not to the extreme.

Just the other day I asked a question regarding Windows and Android around 12h (midday), and spend until 23h that day discussing with a mod, whether it should be moved to a site that deals exclusively with Android questions (and where it would be closed/offtopic because of the Windows part), or closed on the site where it was asked for being offtopic, because of the Android part.

That they - the mods - haven't understood the question became obvious only when we settled that discussion, and when they attempted to answer it themselves.

This is just a trivial example. But it shows the current state of affairs.

Re:Dear Stack Exchange, Inc. on Sunday October 06, 2019 @11:20PM (#21177061)
While, in the beginning, a very active user, I've long now given up on that network. I can't remember when was the last time I asked a question without being forced to defend it for a period of at least a few hours, why it shouldn't be closed as a duplicate, offtopic or ... It used to be an excellent network, but nowadays it's just script-kiddies-playing-admins/editors playground. It is no longer a productive technical community, so I've gone back to specialized forums. Pity, I really liked the sites in the beginning.
Re:Ask HN: Which great products didn't succeed? on Sunday April 07, 2019 @05:00AM (#19595663)
Google Reader. I still think RSS was a better way of aggregating news than many alternatives of today, all wrapped up in a solid and practical interface.
Re:Ask HN: Which great products didn't succeed? on Sunday April 07, 2019 @04:59AM (#19595658)
Google Reader :-(