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Off-topic, but the following had me thinking: >"However, I’m not the most social of person, and I’m rarely on social media other than here so I could definitel

Off-topic, but the following had me thinking: >"However, I’m not the most social of person, and I’m rarely on social media other than here so I could definitely be wrong." Do you people of the HN consider HN as a social media? I personally don't, to me it feels more like an aggregator of knowledge and useful opinions. The way I read HN is that I first look at the comments, and then based on that decided if I'll read the article. I understand why social medias exist, but to me they feel useless and quite often they have many serious negative effects. None of which are present here on HN.

danShumway 7y ago
> Do you people of the HN consider HN as a social media? Yes, definitely. At times when I'm really busy, I'll even occasionally blacklist it to avoid distractions. The feelings HN gives me are very similar to the feelings that Reddit/Facebook would give me. I think that platforms like Reddit have additional downsides that HN has managed to avoid, but HN is a social forum.
rtkaratekid 7y ago
I do by definition (because I enjoy reading some of the conversations), but it could easily be used just as a news site. So I’m my mind it’s usually in a separate place than other social media. Also, as much as I’ve heard some people critique the quality of conversations on HN, it’s definitely a lot better than most, if not all, other conversation based platforms. Maybe random forums are better, but I don’t consider those social media really.
erikpukinskis 7y ago
I would call it a forum. You can’t follow people, which I would consider a necessary condition for social media.
- rtkaratekid 7y ago
  That’s a good point.
irrational 7y ago
I don’t. I also don’t consider other anonymous post-comment sites like Reddit to be social media. It’s only social if there are actual connections, relationships, friendships, etc. being formed or perpetuated. That doesn’t happen on here or on Reddit or on other similar anonymous sites. There is a particular sub-reddit for a hobby that I spend a ton of time on. I honestly don’t know if any of the comments I have ever read on there are from people I’ve previously read comments from. I never read usernames and wouldn’t remember them anyway. For all I know, every comment was left by a bot. There is no community, no relationships, no friendships, etc. Just like HN. That’s not social media.
leggomylibro 7y ago
Yes, definitely. I kind of see it like a hobby subreddit from 5 years ago or a niche forum from 15 years ago. It is well-moderated (thanks dang!), it doesn't have the critical mass of users which leads to wider adoption, it has a narrow focus on thought-provoking material, it is pseudonymous, and you don't need to download an app to use it. But even though I occasionally learn useful things from HN, I still think it fits the definition of "social media": it is a way to waste time when you are otherwise lonely and bored, and it involves interacting with other people.
specialist 7y ago
Today's HN fills the hole in my heart where BIX, CompuServe, and my own old BBS network used to be.

danShumway 7y ago

> Do you people of the HN consider HN as a social media? Yes, definitely. At times when I'm really busy, I'll even occasionally blacklist it to avoid distractions. The feelings HN gives me are very similar to the feelings that Reddit/Facebook would give me. I think that platforms like Reddit have additional downsides that HN has managed to avoid, but HN is a social forum.

rtkaratekid 7y ago

I do by definition (because I enjoy reading some of the conversations), but it could easily be used just as a news site. So I’m my mind it’s usually in a separate place than other social media. Also, as much as I’ve heard some people critique the quality of conversations on HN, it’s definitely a lot better than most, if not all, other conversation based platforms. Maybe random forums are better, but I don’t consider those social media really.

erikpukinskis 7y ago

I would call it a forum. You can’t follow people, which I would consider a necessary condition for social media.

rtkaratekid 7y ago
That’s a good point.

irrational 7y ago

I don’t. I also don’t consider other anonymous post-comment sites like Reddit to be social media. It’s only social if there are actual connections, relationships, friendships, etc. being formed or perpetuated. That doesn’t happen on here or on Reddit or on other similar anonymous sites. There is a particular sub-reddit for a hobby that I spend a ton of time on. I honestly don’t know if any of the comments I have ever read on there are from people I’ve previously read comments from. I never read usernames and wouldn’t remember them anyway. For all I know, every comment was left by a bot. There is no community, no relationships, no friendships, etc. Just like HN. That’s not social media.

leggomylibro 7y ago

Yes, definitely. I kind of see it like a hobby subreddit from 5 years ago or a niche forum from 15 years ago. It is well-moderated (thanks dang!), it doesn't have the critical mass of users which leads to wider adoption, it has a narrow focus on thought-provoking material, it is pseudonymous, and you don't need to download an app to use it. But even though I occasionally learn useful things from HN, I still think it fits the definition of "social media": it is a way to waste time when you are otherwise lonely and bored, and it involves interacting with other people.

specialist 7y ago

Today's HN fills the hole in my heart where BIX, CompuServe, and my own old BBS network used to be.