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Lack of features and poor UI is a moderation tactic to keep Eternal September at bay. It’s used aggressively by 4chan (eg setting a fullscreen overlay which can

Lack of features and poor UI is a moderation tactic to keep Eternal September at bay. It’s used aggressively by 4chan (eg setting a fullscreen overlay which can only be removed using user style css), but you see it crop up elsewhere every now and then. Whether intentionally or not, I think HN effectively does the same. Let’s face it: the UI is lacking and laborious. While I only speak for myself, some might agree: that’s a feature, not a bug.

tpmx 7y ago
That is an interesting thought. You may be on to something... They did eventually implement comment folding though.
- dvirsky 7y ago
  Yet still they did (will?) not implement comment notifications, which I'm pretty sure will increase engagement significantly.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
Enginerrrd 7y ago
>that’s a feature, not a bug. This! And I believe it's intentional. It's a common pattern actually: A site starts out and has a slight barrier to entry which keeps out the technologically illiterate and those with poor attention spans. The site gets good because all the contributors are, at the risk of sounding like a gate-keeping elitist here, high quality people because that slight barrier has selected for them. Then the site gets sold, bean counters and management want to increase users by enhancing usability and eliminating those barriers to entry, and quality goes downhill until the high quality people give up and find another hub to congregate. Wash, rinse, repeat. Case in point: Reddit. Only obscure niche subs are even tolerable for me anymore where nothing ever makes the front page and its just a bunch of knowledgeable enthusiasts. I love to educate new people and welcome them into a community, but I really like the Buddhist monk or Navy Seal model. They only get in after they've proved they're sufficiently motivated to do their own work by waiting on the door step for 3 days, or going through intense training, etc. That's just the extreme. I've seen so many organizations or sites that have managed to maintain a quality environment by doing really simple things, like charge $1 for entry, require a credit card number with no charge made, require some contribution or a membership fee. Look at the difference between Costco and Walmart for another example where a membership fee that keeps out the riff raff has certainly played an important role. The reality is, it's not always a design failure if your community fails to educate and cater to the lowest common denominator. HN I think absolutely does this intentionally. I love that you have to get 500 karma in order to be eligible to downvote. It's a really smart tactic IMO. You have to really contribute something over a fair amount of time and thus gain a lot of situational awareness before you can start throwing around full voting privileges.
- HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
  Only obscure niche subs are even tolerable for me anymore where nothing ever makes the front page and its just a bunch of knowledgeable enthusiasts Yes, true. I still use Reddit, for those reasons. I love that you have to get 500 karma in order to be eligible to downvote. It's a really smart tactic IMO. Agreed. Still proud of the day I hit that magic number.

tpmx 7y ago

That is an interesting thought. You may be on to something... They did eventually implement comment folding though.

dvirsky 7y ago
Yet still they did (will?) not implement comment notifications, which I'm pretty sure will increase engagement significantly.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

Enginerrrd 7y ago

>that’s a feature, not a bug. This! And I believe it's intentional. It's a common pattern actually: A site starts out and has a slight barrier to entry which keeps out the technologically illiterate and those with poor attention spans. The site gets good because all the contributors are, at the risk of sounding like a gate-keeping elitist here, high quality people because that slight barrier has selected for them. Then the site gets sold, bean counters and management want to increase users by enhancing usability and eliminating those barriers to entry, and quality goes downhill until the high quality people give up and find another hub to congregate. Wash, rinse, repeat. Case in point: Reddit. Only obscure niche subs are even tolerable for me anymore where nothing ever makes the front page and its just a bunch of knowledgeable enthusiasts. I love to educate new people and welcome them into a community, but I really like the Buddhist monk or Navy Seal model. They only get in after they've proved they're sufficiently motivated to do their own work by waiting on the door step for 3 days, or going through intense training, etc. That's just the extreme. I've seen so many organizations or sites that have managed to maintain a quality environment by doing really simple things, like charge $1 for entry, require a credit card number with no charge made, require some contribution or a membership fee. Look at the difference between Costco and Walmart for another example where a membership fee that keeps out the riff raff has certainly played an important role. The reality is, it's not always a design failure if your community fails to educate and cater to the lowest common denominator. HN I think absolutely does this intentionally. I love that you have to get 500 karma in order to be eligible to downvote. It's a really smart tactic IMO. You have to really contribute something over a fair amount of time and thus gain a lot of situational awareness before you can start throwing around full voting privileges.

HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
Only obscure niche subs are even tolerable for me anymore where nothing ever makes the front page and its just a bunch of knowledgeable enthusiasts Yes, true. I still use Reddit, for those reasons. I love that you have to get 500 karma in order to be eligible to downvote. It's a really smart tactic IMO. Agreed. Still proud of the day I hit that magic number.