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> LESSON 4 - HOW TO SHARE > ... > What I’ve noticed some people do is put out a tweet directing people to the newest page. This gives their followers an easy

> LESSON 4 - HOW TO SHARE > ... > What I’ve noticed some people do is put out a tweet directing people to the newest page. This gives their followers an easy route to find their post. I'm pretty sure this method gets flagged. It's easy enough to detect a bunch of users landing on the new page with Twitter as a referrer all upvoting the same article. The mods and the community don't appreciate sockpuppeting (unless you're in YC of course).

marknadal 7y ago
Oh oh oh, so true. I love that you just called this out.
- deadcoder0904 7y ago
  It's so true. Every time a YC startup launches, there is an upvote ring from YC I think. They reach front page so quickly. Sick practices :(
  - dang 7y ago
    Posts that start with "Launch HN" get placed on the front page similarly to how job ads do. These are the two formal things that HN gives back to YC in exchange for funding it: https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comment&storyText=false&prefix=true&query=by:dang%20launch%20job%20ad https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comme.... The difference is that job ads can't be upvoted and decline in rank as a function of time, while Launch HNs can be upvoted and get ranked like regular stories after the initial placement. Posts by YC startups after their initial launch don't get any special treatment. If a submission doesn't say "Launch HN", it's subject to the same rules as everything else. Edit: HN also displays YC alumni names in orange to other YC alumni.
- dang 7y ago
  I would like to hear what you think you know about this, and how. A large part of our job is trying to prevent HN from being gamed. YC startups don't get to do that any more than others, and if we notice egregious cases we email them and give them an extra scolding.
dang 7y ago
> don't appreciate sockpuppeting (unless you're in YC of course) That's not true. Votes from YC alums get no special treatment, and HN's voting ring detection software works the same on their posts as anyone else's. If you or anyone has concerns about this, I'd be happy to address them, but specific links would be helpful. It's pretty hard to respond to drive-by accusations like this, which have no information in them. The first thing we tell YC startups is not to solicit upvotes and comments. If they email us complaining that their post didn't get traction, we tell them the same things we tell others.
- jameslk 7y ago
  Maybe I heard wrong then, but I was told that links posted by YC members are colored differently visible only to other YC members. Perhaps that was just a conspiracy.
  - dang 7y ago
    YC alumni usernames appear in orange to other YC alumni, but HN's ring detector prevents that from having much effect on the voting process.
    - jameslk 7y ago
      Thanks for confirming this feature. I mean, if someone's name stands out in a nice bright orange color, I might feel just a bit trigger happy to upvote it. Unless you're just completely ignoring votes by other YC alum altogether, I can't see the ring detector being able to discern from authenticity vs bias towards liking orange colored names. Even just a few upvotes can give someone an advantage.
      - dang 7y ago
        We don't see voting rings involving orange accounts getting more traction than voting rings in general. Our systems certainly aren't perfect, though. If you think you see a post that is being affected by sockpuppet voting, you're welcome to send us a link so we can look into it.

marknadal 7y ago

Oh oh oh, so true. I love that you just called this out.

deadcoder0904 7y ago
It's so true. Every time a YC startup launches, there is an upvote ring from YC I think. They reach front page so quickly. Sick practices :(
- dang 7y ago
  Posts that start with "Launch HN" get placed on the front page similarly to how job ads do. These are the two formal things that HN gives back to YC in exchange for funding it: https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comment&storyText=false&prefix=true&query=by:dang%20launch%20job%20ad https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=comme.... The difference is that job ads can't be upvoted and decline in rank as a function of time, while Launch HNs can be upvoted and get ranked like regular stories after the initial placement. Posts by YC startups after their initial launch don't get any special treatment. If a submission doesn't say "Launch HN", it's subject to the same rules as everything else. Edit: HN also displays YC alumni names in orange to other YC alumni.
dang 7y ago
I would like to hear what you think you know about this, and how. A large part of our job is trying to prevent HN from being gamed. YC startups don't get to do that any more than others, and if we notice egregious cases we email them and give them an extra scolding.

dang 7y ago

> don't appreciate sockpuppeting (unless you're in YC of course) That's not true. Votes from YC alums get no special treatment, and HN's voting ring detection software works the same on their posts as anyone else's. If you or anyone has concerns about this, I'd be happy to address them, but specific links would be helpful. It's pretty hard to respond to drive-by accusations like this, which have no information in them. The first thing we tell YC startups is not to solicit upvotes and comments. If they email us complaining that their post didn't get traction, we tell them the same things we tell others.

jameslk 7y ago
Maybe I heard wrong then, but I was told that links posted by YC members are colored differently visible only to other YC members. Perhaps that was just a conspiracy.
- dang 7y ago
  YC alumni usernames appear in orange to other YC alumni, but HN's ring detector prevents that from having much effect on the voting process.
  - jameslk 7y ago
    Thanks for confirming this feature. I mean, if someone's name stands out in a nice bright orange color, I might feel just a bit trigger happy to upvote it. Unless you're just completely ignoring votes by other YC alum altogether, I can't see the ring detector being able to discern from authenticity vs bias towards liking orange colored names. Even just a few upvotes can give someone an advantage.
    - dang 7y ago
      We don't see voting rings involving orange accounts getting more traction than voting rings in general. Our systems certainly aren't perfect, though. If you think you see a post that is being affected by sockpuppet voting, you're welcome to send us a link so we can look into it.