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As the only form of advertising that HN does—I think this is a totally acceptable trade-off to being able to use it for free.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
Even if someone has decided they have no interest in pursuing a gig at a YC startup (no complaints personally, great folks, great opportunities for those interested)? Just prominently advertise https://www.workatastartup.com/ https://www.workatastartup.com/ on the HN homepage instead or give us an option to hide them in our HN profile.
- jamiequint 7y ago
  Yes, because you're using the site for free it's not up to you.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    Browser extension it is then (you can detect the job posts, as they have no discuss ability), although I would love a way to donate to mods so they can go get a fancy lunch or something like that. I love HN, I think the mods' work is super valuable, but I block ads in general (while donating cash to non-profits and paying for news sources I consume), so of course I would want to filter what I want. EDIT: I'm apparently entitled because I don't want to see job postings that I'm not interested in in my news feed. Ce la vie.
    - jamiequint 7y ago
      Kind of a dick move to be honest. You're entitled because you expect to have a free service provided to you AND expect to dictate the terms of how it's provided. Whether or not you want to pay is irrelevant, you're trying to dictate the terms and it's not your right to do so. If you don't like the terms don't use the service. It's very simple.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - toomuchtodo 7y ago
        I would pay for HN if there was a way to (seriously, charge me with Stripe, it'll go in the same expense category for me as Bloomberg). Never said I expected it to be free. I even Patreon someone who contributes on HN because I find their contributions valuable. EDIT: Big oof. I get it, you believe a website should get to control someone's browsing experience. My browser, my rules. No need to argue it further and pollute the thread.
      - tedivm 7y ago
        How do you feel about ad blockers?
        paulcole 7y ago
        I don’t use them. If the ads I see are too offensive, I don’t visit the site again. If there’s a paywall and I want to get around it, I pay.
        laugable 7y ago
        Did the GP ask you?
        tedivm 7y ago
        I didn't, but part of why I use websites like this is to get multiple viewpoints. I don't need anyone gatekeeping conversations with me.
        paulcole 7y ago
        I thought they did. Let me know if I was wrong and I’d be happy to delete my post.
        ianai 7y ago
        I take a similar view. But it’s not so much about a desire to not pay for good content. It’s that there are way more content sources than time in the day for attention and money.
    - dang 7y ago
      I hear you—the front page only has 30 slots, and those 30 slots are by far the scarcest resource on HN. To burn one of them on an ad is a pain. Also, don't forget that we place Launch HNs on the front page from time to time (https://news.ycombinator.com/launches https://news.ycombinator.com/launches), especially when YC is in session and with a traffic jam towards each Demo Day. There have even been two of those plus a job ad on the front page at the same time, though that's rare—only once, or maybe twice, IIRC. It's just so reasonable for HN to give back to YC in exchange for funding it, though, that I don't believe the bulk of the community has a problem with it. It seems to me, if anything, on the modest side. Writing code to make the browser drop the job ad and slide #31 up to #30 isn't hard. The code for HN's 'hide' feature does something similar already. That's probably your best bet.
      - toomuchtodo 7y ago
        I agree entirely. Those who want to see the job ads will see them, those who don’t will find a way not to, and that’s reasonable for everyone. I might add: is this the best way for HN to give back to YC, through ad slots? If so, carry on, it just feels like there might a more optimal way to pair potential candidates with potential startups (as you’re relying on quite a bit of luck that the right candidate will be on the front page at the right time interested in that particular role, job ad decay and all that). Without context, I’m unable to propose alternative methodologies, so I could be entirely wrong and these ad slots are objectively the optimal way. Thanks for the reply, I am not unappreciative of the forum or the work you folks do.
        tomhoward 7y ago
        > you’re relying on quite a bit of luck that the right candidate will be on the front page at the right time interested in that particular role Often the way job ads get to people is that somebody happens to see an ad and thinks "that looks like a great job for my [friend|relative|etc]" and passes it on. So it's a wider net than you perhaps realise. Also, people actively job-hunting will go to the jobs page to see all active listings. But having the placement on the front page serves as an ongoing reminder to people that the job listings exist.
- bcrosby95 7y ago
  They aren't that common. And are easy to ignore. It's not like they have a banner constantly taking up the top 4-5 spots. Or popups. These sorts of posts aren't even on the front page more often then not.
dang 7y ago
There are also Launch HNs, which get placed on the front page, mostly when YC is in session and especially towards Demo Day, when our inbox piles up with founders handing their papers in before the deadline. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20%22launch%20hn%22&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
muzani 7y ago
Sure but as with other forms of advertising, it should be relevant. There are lots of other good YC companies too.

toomuchtodo 7y ago

Even if someone has decided they have no interest in pursuing a gig at a YC startup (no complaints personally, great folks, great opportunities for those interested)? Just prominently advertise https://www.workatastartup.com/ https://www.workatastartup.com/ on the HN homepage instead or give us an option to hide them in our HN profile.

jamiequint 7y ago
Yes, because you're using the site for free it's not up to you.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  Browser extension it is then (you can detect the job posts, as they have no discuss ability), although I would love a way to donate to mods so they can go get a fancy lunch or something like that. I love HN, I think the mods' work is super valuable, but I block ads in general (while donating cash to non-profits and paying for news sources I consume), so of course I would want to filter what I want. EDIT: I'm apparently entitled because I don't want to see job postings that I'm not interested in in my news feed. Ce la vie.
  - jamiequint 7y ago
    Kind of a dick move to be honest. You're entitled because you expect to have a free service provided to you AND expect to dictate the terms of how it's provided. Whether or not you want to pay is irrelevant, you're trying to dictate the terms and it's not your right to do so. If you don't like the terms don't use the service. It's very simple.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - toomuchtodo 7y ago
      I would pay for HN if there was a way to (seriously, charge me with Stripe, it'll go in the same expense category for me as Bloomberg). Never said I expected it to be free. I even Patreon someone who contributes on HN because I find their contributions valuable. EDIT: Big oof. I get it, you believe a website should get to control someone's browsing experience. My browser, my rules. No need to argue it further and pollute the thread.
    - tedivm 7y ago
      How do you feel about ad blockers?
      - paulcole 7y ago
        I don’t use them. If the ads I see are too offensive, I don’t visit the site again. If there’s a paywall and I want to get around it, I pay.
        laugable 7y ago
        Did the GP ask you?
        tedivm 7y ago
        I didn't, but part of why I use websites like this is to get multiple viewpoints. I don't need anyone gatekeeping conversations with me.
        paulcole 7y ago
        I thought they did. Let me know if I was wrong and I’d be happy to delete my post.
        ianai 7y ago
        I take a similar view. But it’s not so much about a desire to not pay for good content. It’s that there are way more content sources than time in the day for attention and money.
  - dang 7y ago
    I hear you—the front page only has 30 slots, and those 30 slots are by far the scarcest resource on HN. To burn one of them on an ad is a pain. Also, don't forget that we place Launch HNs on the front page from time to time (https://news.ycombinator.com/launches https://news.ycombinator.com/launches), especially when YC is in session and with a traffic jam towards each Demo Day. There have even been two of those plus a job ad on the front page at the same time, though that's rare—only once, or maybe twice, IIRC. It's just so reasonable for HN to give back to YC in exchange for funding it, though, that I don't believe the bulk of the community has a problem with it. It seems to me, if anything, on the modest side. Writing code to make the browser drop the job ad and slide #31 up to #30 isn't hard. The code for HN's 'hide' feature does something similar already. That's probably your best bet.
    - toomuchtodo 7y ago
      I agree entirely. Those who want to see the job ads will see them, those who don’t will find a way not to, and that’s reasonable for everyone. I might add: is this the best way for HN to give back to YC, through ad slots? If so, carry on, it just feels like there might a more optimal way to pair potential candidates with potential startups (as you’re relying on quite a bit of luck that the right candidate will be on the front page at the right time interested in that particular role, job ad decay and all that). Without context, I’m unable to propose alternative methodologies, so I could be entirely wrong and these ad slots are objectively the optimal way. Thanks for the reply, I am not unappreciative of the forum or the work you folks do.
      - tomhoward 7y ago
        > you’re relying on quite a bit of luck that the right candidate will be on the front page at the right time interested in that particular role Often the way job ads get to people is that somebody happens to see an ad and thinks "that looks like a great job for my [friend|relative|etc]" and passes it on. So it's a wider net than you perhaps realise. Also, people actively job-hunting will go to the jobs page to see all active listings. But having the placement on the front page serves as an ongoing reminder to people that the job listings exist.
bcrosby95 7y ago
They aren't that common. And are easy to ignore. It's not like they have a banner constantly taking up the top 4-5 spots. Or popups. These sorts of posts aren't even on the front page more often then not.

dang 7y ago

There are also Launch HNs, which get placed on the front page, mostly when YC is in session and especially towards Demo Day, when our inbox piles up with founders handing their papers in before the deadline. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20%22launch%20hn%22&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

muzani 7y ago

Sure but as with other forms of advertising, it should be relevant. There are lots of other good YC companies too.