5 ms·

Ask HN: How do you make best out of HN?

10 points by aryamaan 9y ago

txutxu 9y ago
Maybe it just works for me, but, as you ask... this is my "how": 1) Visit just 3 times a day. Maybe I loose some links, but my time is limited. 2) Read the link before read the comments And try to make your own conclusion before read the comments. Sometimes I confess I read a couple of comments before open the link, and sometimes I skip the notice and just read the comments, but I can't give a writen rule for this, I use my subconscious. 3) Keep in mind that people maybe influenced (startup sphere, self-promote, etc), when reading and judging comments. Do not take other people thoughts as a religion. And skip threads as soon as you detect they are not useful for _your_ case. 4) Use some system to keep useful information in your backlog. Pick your pioson: desktop wiki, bookmark system, TO-DO file, ... (?) 5) Test, try and then judge. New products, features and programs. 6) Read the source code of the interesting stuff. This in my case gives me more than reading thoughts. 7) Comment Sometimes you will get useful conversations and sometimes downvotes. 8) Enjoy If you feel pain, change activity. Nobody is forced to use this.
codegeek 9y ago
I read comments. 80% of my time on HN is spent on that. Rest is spent on commenting and reading shared articles. Whenever I have a tech. idea or a topic I want to learn more about, I search on HN first even before google at times. It almost always gives me what I needed.
- gallerdude 9y ago
  Yeah, IMO comments are the golden goose of HN. You'll find these stunningly well thought out essays on a fascinating amount of topics. I even have a note document where I save some of my favorites.
PaulHoule 9y ago
I've written my own client that filters what I see. (No "is the bump on the latest iPhone a Bezier curve or a NURBS?" or "react ruined my life", "I am looking for a technical co-founder", etc.) My codename for it is "Hacker News for Hackers".
- mod 9y ago
  is it public?
  - PaulHoule 9y ago
    Not yet, but I think I will post a feed soon. Getting the training tools to the point where somebody else can use them is a whole different matter!
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
ivan_ah 9y ago
This is a pretty good reader: http://hckrnews.com/ http://hckrnews.com/ Set to 25% if busy day at work, 50% for normal, and all if you want to waste lots of time. In either case, it takes away the need to check all the time because you might miss something...
tedmiston 9y ago
I keep a list of all of the HN clients in public Pinboard bookmarks if you're looking for alternatives to the standard interface. https://pinboard.in/u:tedmiston/t:hacker-news https://pinboard.in/u:tedmiston/t:hacker-news
anotheryou 9y ago
I use a "mark all read" extention. Firefox: https://github.com/andreicristianpetcu/HNMarkAllRead/releases https://github.com/andreicristianpetcu/HNMarkAllRead/release... (temporary release patched for FF57) Chrome: https://github.com/danmaz74/HNMarkAllRead https://github.com/danmaz74/HNMarkAllRead

10 points by aryamaan 9y ago

Maybe it just works for me, but, as you ask... this is my "how": 1) Visit just 3 times a day. Maybe I loose some links, but my time is limited. 2) Read the link before read the comments And try to make your own conclusion before read the comments. Sometimes I confess I read a couple of comments before open the link, and sometimes I skip the notice and just read the comments, but I can't give a writen rule for this, I use my subconscious. 3) Keep in mind that people maybe influenced (startup sphere, self-promote, etc), when reading and judging comments. Do not take other people thoughts as a religion. And skip threads as soon as you detect they are not useful for _your_ case. 4) Use some system to keep useful information in your backlog. Pick your pioson: desktop wiki, bookmark system, TO-DO file, ... (?) 5) Test, try and then judge. New products, features and programs. 6) Read the source code of the interesting stuff. This in my case gives me more than reading thoughts. 7) Comment Sometimes you will get useful conversations and sometimes downvotes. 8) Enjoy If you feel pain, change activity. Nobody is forced to use this.

codegeek 9y ago

I read comments. 80% of my time on HN is spent on that. Rest is spent on commenting and reading shared articles. Whenever I have a tech. idea or a topic I want to learn more about, I search on HN first even before google at times. It almost always gives me what I needed.

gallerdude 9y ago
Yeah, IMO comments are the golden goose of HN. You'll find these stunningly well thought out essays on a fascinating amount of topics. I even have a note document where I save some of my favorites.

PaulHoule 9y ago

I've written my own client that filters what I see. (No "is the bump on the latest iPhone a Bezier curve or a NURBS?" or "react ruined my life", "I am looking for a technical co-founder", etc.) My codename for it is "Hacker News for Hackers".

mod 9y ago
is it public?
- PaulHoule 9y ago
  Not yet, but I think I will post a feed soon. Getting the training tools to the point where somebody else can use them is a whole different matter!

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

ivan_ah 9y ago

This is a pretty good reader: http://hckrnews.com/ http://hckrnews.com/ Set to 25% if busy day at work, 50% for normal, and all if you want to waste lots of time. In either case, it takes away the need to check all the time because you might miss something...

tedmiston 9y ago

I keep a list of all of the HN clients in public Pinboard bookmarks if you're looking for alternatives to the standard interface. https://pinboard.in/u:tedmiston/t:hacker-news https://pinboard.in/u:tedmiston/t:hacker-news

anotheryou 9y ago

I use a "mark all read" extention. Firefox: https://github.com/andreicristianpetcu/HNMarkAllRead/releases https://github.com/andreicristianpetcu/HNMarkAllRead/release... (temporary release patched for FF57) Chrome: https://github.com/danmaz74/HNMarkAllRead https://github.com/danmaz74/HNMarkAllRead