3 ms·

Is self linking really ok on hn? Just curious to know.

kajecounterhack 16y ago
YMMV. There's plenty of someone posting something cool they did, or a startup who just got TC'ed and is giddy with excitement to show the world. As long as it's "on topic" or whatever, it doesn't seem wrong. Of course then there's the matter of "what's on topic for HN?" -- which I will not comment on because everyone seems to have a different opinion. In this case I personally think it's fine -- Franz is just linking to a piece written by him, which to me is like linking your own blog post. We see that fairly frequently I'd say...and SEO is of relevance to most people here (I would think). A shameless self-promo piece might find a more negative reception here.
RiderOfGiraffes 16y ago
My observation ... If it's on topic, adds value, and isn't simply spam, then often yes, it's OK. Many readers, perhaps most readers, don't notice whether something is self-linked. But if someone consistently self-links, and the lunk-to items are of marginal, or zero, value, then people start to notice and the person in question loses face, karma, and possibly good-will. So, it depends.
- rmc 16y ago
  If it's on topic, adds value, and isn't simply spam, then often yes, it's OK. … are of marginal, or zero, value, then people start to notice and the person in question loses face, karma, and possibly good-will. This is, I assume the rule of thumb with anything on HN. "Is it OK to type a comment?" "If it adds value, yes" etc.
  - RiderOfGiraffes 16y ago
    Exactly, which is why "Me Too!" comments often get hammered. They add no value, information or insight. The question that's becoming more relevant is "Value to whom?" With the increase in participants, the HN focus is diluting and widening. It seems to some that the topics on the front page are no longer as niche as they once were. It's claimed that they used to be more tightly focussed on topics of interest to hackers more than non-hackers, and that now the emphasis on being targetted at hackers is dying. But still, "I can't define it but I know it when I see it." I still upvote strongly technical, hackerish articles, or articles that I think wouldn't appeal to a general audience, if they "add value."

YMMV. There's plenty of someone posting something cool they did, or a startup who just got TC'ed and is giddy with excitement to show the world. As long as it's "on topic" or whatever, it doesn't seem wrong. Of course then there's the matter of "what's on topic for HN?" -- which I will not comment on because everyone seems to have a different opinion. In this case I personally think it's fine -- Franz is just linking to a piece written by him, which to me is like linking your own blog post. We see that fairly frequently I'd say...and SEO is of relevance to most people here (I would think). A shameless self-promo piece might find a more negative reception here.

RiderOfGiraffes 16y ago

My observation ... If it's on topic, adds value, and isn't simply spam, then often yes, it's OK. Many readers, perhaps most readers, don't notice whether something is self-linked. But if someone consistently self-links, and the lunk-to items are of marginal, or zero, value, then people start to notice and the person in question loses face, karma, and possibly good-will. So, it depends.

rmc 16y ago
If it's on topic, adds value, and isn't simply spam, then often yes, it's OK. … are of marginal, or zero, value, then people start to notice and the person in question loses face, karma, and possibly good-will. This is, I assume the rule of thumb with anything on HN. "Is it OK to type a comment?" "If it adds value, yes" etc.
- RiderOfGiraffes 16y ago
  Exactly, which is why "Me Too!" comments often get hammered. They add no value, information or insight. The question that's becoming more relevant is "Value to whom?" With the increase in participants, the HN focus is diluting and widening. It seems to some that the topics on the front page are no longer as niche as they once were. It's claimed that they used to be more tightly focussed on topics of interest to hackers more than non-hackers, and that now the emphasis on being targetted at hackers is dying. But still, "I can't define it but I know it when I see it." I still upvote strongly technical, hackerish articles, or articles that I think wouldn't appeal to a general audience, if they "add value."