The only thing I'd add to this is that all articles are entertainment -- that is, if the reader is not enjoying themselves they will not continue to read. The

The only thing I'd add to this is that all articles are entertainment -- that is, if the reader is not enjoying themselves they will not continue to read. The trick is to walk the fine line between entertaining and vacuousness -- lack of substance. Having a solid recommendation helps, but that's only because it's a clear goal. Some of the best articles I've read appear to be completely entertainment-based, yet leave the reader thinking in a new way they hadn't thought before. Based on a dare from swombat, I tried to do this with today's blog entry (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2124230 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2124230), but missed the boat. Satire is very difficult. There is a tension between being too direct and being too general. To Edw512's point, if you clearly identify your target, it's much easier to walk that line.