4 ms·

Why was 'web' excluded from the HN title?

by yincrash 9y ago

SirHound 9y ago
I submitted with the original headline, seems to have been edited?
- Brakenshire 9y ago
  Now they've changed it to a third title, and relegated it.
- dang 9y ago
  The site guidelines ask you not to use the original headline when it's misleading or linkbait, and this was certainly the latter. A good HN title is accurate and neutral, so when changing a title that's what to shoot for. It's best to look for a representative phrase from the article itself that can serve as an accurate and neutral title. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - pvg 9y ago
    linkbait, and this was certainly the latter. I think you're going too far in labeling a somewhat polemical title 'linkbait'. It's probably not going to damage discussion left as is and the anodyne replacement doesn't even convey the meaning of the original.
    - dang 9y ago
      Sure, maybe. Probably you're right.
mirimir 9y ago
Maybe because there is no "mobile web"? I mean, there's the Web. There's the mess that smartphones make of it. And there's the mess that devs make designing for smartphones. But that's not a problem with the Web.
- iainmerrick 9y ago
  That sure sounds like a problem, and the problem exists on the web. "Mobile web" is a useful and descriptive name for the bit of the web that suffers most from this problem.
  - mirimir 9y ago
    Not at all. If I have a small computer, even a smartphone, running Linux, there is no problem. Except that its screen is too damn small, and demand for AR headsets never took off.
- yincrash 9y ago
  Leaving the title as 'Developing for mobile' makes it sound like it's referring to native mobile development. This article is definitely about web development, specifically when targeting mobile devices.
  - mirimir 9y ago
    "Developing for Android and iOS browsers" would be more accurate.
dang 9y ago
The original title is baity, so we changed it in accordance with the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. When we change titles we always try to use a representative phrase from the article itself if we can find one. In this case we found one. Of course we could have just reinserted the word 'web', but we've found that there's value in sticking to what an article literally says, and in this case a moderator stuck with the latter. Just one of those judgment calls. You make a good point at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14738404 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14738404, though, so we'll put 'web' back in.

Why was 'web' excluded from the HN title?

SirHound 9y ago

I submitted with the original headline, seems to have been edited?

Brakenshire 9y ago
Now they've changed it to a third title, and relegated it.
dang 9y ago
The site guidelines ask you not to use the original headline when it's misleading or linkbait, and this was certainly the latter. A good HN title is accurate and neutral, so when changing a title that's what to shoot for. It's best to look for a representative phrase from the article itself that can serve as an accurate and neutral title. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- pvg 9y ago
  linkbait, and this was certainly the latter. I think you're going too far in labeling a somewhat polemical title 'linkbait'. It's probably not going to damage discussion left as is and the anodyne replacement doesn't even convey the meaning of the original.
  - dang 9y ago
    Sure, maybe. Probably you're right.

mirimir 9y ago

Maybe because there is no "mobile web"? I mean, there's the Web. There's the mess that smartphones make of it. And there's the mess that devs make designing for smartphones. But that's not a problem with the Web.

iainmerrick 9y ago
That sure sounds like a problem, and the problem exists on the web. "Mobile web" is a useful and descriptive name for the bit of the web that suffers most from this problem.
- mirimir 9y ago
  Not at all. If I have a small computer, even a smartphone, running Linux, there is no problem. Except that its screen is too damn small, and demand for AR headsets never took off.
yincrash 9y ago
Leaving the title as 'Developing for mobile' makes it sound like it's referring to native mobile development. This article is definitely about web development, specifically when targeting mobile devices.
- mirimir 9y ago
  "Developing for Android and iOS browsers" would be more accurate.

dang 9y ago

The original title is baity, so we changed it in accordance with the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. When we change titles we always try to use a representative phrase from the article itself if we can find one. In this case we found one. Of course we could have just reinserted the word 'web', but we've found that there's value in sticking to what an article literally says, and in this case a moderator stuck with the latter. Just one of those judgment calls. You make a good point at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14738404 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14738404, though, so we'll put 'web' back in.