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Yet HN is so far managing the onslaught. Part of that is of course very tightly controlled moderation where crass behavior is immediately and severely punished,

by Joeri 9y ago

Yet HN is so far managing the onslaught. Part of that is of course very tightly controlled moderation where crass behavior is immediately and severely punished, but maybe requiring civility at all times is the only way to have a meaningful discussion.

jgtrosh 9y ago
Also possible one of the least flashy UIs. It's not just about making the content stand out, Medium does it better and is quite a bit closer to Twitter in terms of quality of content/interaction. It's also about being actively simplistic, and requiring some effort from the reader. But also the tight moderation.
nthcolumn 9y ago
I value the equality and freedom (and not being downmodded anonymously and unfairly) on Twitter but I also value this space. They are merely different spaces. I don't have to choose. Nobody reads all of twitter - it is what you make it. This place has a much more restricted demographic than Twitter. Twitter is shouting things in Central Park, whereas you wouldn't do that (I hope) at a wedding in New England. I hope I am always civil but only expect that in return in some spaces.
k__ 9y ago
HN is widely know for being full of self absorbed white tech guys. Yes it got more civilized in the last years, but while not being offensive it's still filled with one sided views of the world by <1% of its population.
haburka 9y ago
I feel like HN is very well moderated in a way that's completely opaque which is its main strength. Users should not have to learn rules to participate, and they should not even be aware that they're breaking the rules really. Ideally they would just think that they are participating while not being aware that none of their contributions are ever seen by another user.
vacri 9y ago
HN-the-original hasn't survived the onslaught. It used to be a business + tech forum, with about a third of the articles being relevant to the business side of startups. Now it's a hacking + politics + general interest forum (no doubt due to changing 'Startup News' to 'Hacker News' and adding time). HN is managing, but it's had to pivot to do so. For example, it used to be that an article about hiring was about the business side; how to remunerate, how to obtain the best-bang-for-your-buck. These days it's about the employee side; how scummy employers are, how they're all clueless about interview process, how to job-hop, even a little bragging about salaries. Gone are the days of articles about A/B testing, and here are the days where there's usually a few NYTimes articles on the front page. > maybe requiring civility at all times is the only way to have a meaningful discussion. In larger forums, yes, but not in smaller forums.
mcv 9y ago
I think that's the recurring lesson of online communities: moderation works. Without it, the community will eventually degenerate into a haven for trolls. Unless it was always meant to be a haven for trolls; then it will become a haven for different trolls. Maybe this is a sad lesson. I would prefer if a completely unmoderated discussion could remain civil and constructive at all times, but there's probably a reason why even panel discussions with only a handful of people need a good moderator.

by Joeri 9y ago

jgtrosh 9y ago

Also possible one of the least flashy UIs. It's not just about making the content stand out, Medium does it better and is quite a bit closer to Twitter in terms of quality of content/interaction. It's also about being actively simplistic, and requiring some effort from the reader. But also the tight moderation.

nthcolumn 9y ago

I value the equality and freedom (and not being downmodded anonymously and unfairly) on Twitter but I also value this space. They are merely different spaces. I don't have to choose. Nobody reads all of twitter - it is what you make it. This place has a much more restricted demographic than Twitter. Twitter is shouting things in Central Park, whereas you wouldn't do that (I hope) at a wedding in New England. I hope I am always civil but only expect that in return in some spaces.

k__ 9y ago

HN is widely know for being full of self absorbed white tech guys. Yes it got more civilized in the last years, but while not being offensive it's still filled with one sided views of the world by <1% of its population.

haburka 9y ago

I feel like HN is very well moderated in a way that's completely opaque which is its main strength. Users should not have to learn rules to participate, and they should not even be aware that they're breaking the rules really. Ideally they would just think that they are participating while not being aware that none of their contributions are ever seen by another user.

vacri 9y ago

HN-the-original hasn't survived the onslaught. It used to be a business + tech forum, with about a third of the articles being relevant to the business side of startups. Now it's a hacking + politics + general interest forum (no doubt due to changing 'Startup News' to 'Hacker News' and adding time). HN is managing, but it's had to pivot to do so. For example, it used to be that an article about hiring was about the business side; how to remunerate, how to obtain the best-bang-for-your-buck. These days it's about the employee side; how scummy employers are, how they're all clueless about interview process, how to job-hop, even a little bragging about salaries. Gone are the days of articles about A/B testing, and here are the days where there's usually a few NYTimes articles on the front page. > maybe requiring civility at all times is the only way to have a meaningful discussion. In larger forums, yes, but not in smaller forums.

mcv 9y ago

I think that's the recurring lesson of online communities: moderation works. Without it, the community will eventually degenerate into a haven for trolls. Unless it was always meant to be a haven for trolls; then it will become a haven for different trolls. Maybe this is a sad lesson. I would prefer if a completely unmoderated discussion could remain civil and constructive at all times, but there's probably a reason why even panel discussions with only a handful of people need a good moderator.