4 ms·

If you love hackernews why wouldn't you tell anyone about it?

Yajirobe 6y ago
To be the only one who knows about this and not to cultivate the competition
kortilla 6y ago
It’s frowned upon by true intellectuals because people discuss things they are not experts in: https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/the-lonely-work-of-moderating-hacker-news https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/th... It’s similar to recommending slate star codex to someone. Unless that person is comfortable with rationally discussing uncomfortable topics, they will think you a nut job who supports everything on the site.
AdrianB1 6y ago
HN is a very nice place that I feel bad telling people about it just to come and ruin it like many Internet forums I've seen in the past. From all the people I know there are maybe 5 that have a place here and most are already long time readers.
- Eupolemos 6y ago
  Yep, I never link to HN on social media. I'll talk about it in person with people I know at work or I'd mention it on my old blog - but I don't want to risk it to the "unwashed masses". But maybe I'm being too cautious - it is pretty in-depht here. That alone might dissuade most of the shitposters. And the karma-requirements for downvoting seem sufficient.
iratewizard 6y ago
Facebook, reddit, and 4chan are great examples of cautionary tales. Growth diluted the culture and alienated original users. 4chan for example, used to counter this with guroposting and attacking anyone who didn't do the what the hivemind would do. That's long since dead as the site is now under endless attack from law enforcement and decency police. Here, people can have uncomfortable conversations about contentious topics like IQ testing and leave learning something new. Try on reddit, and you'll leave learning the circlejerk's accepted take. Try on 4chan and you'll learn about your homosexual tendencies. Don't try on Facebook.
blaser-waffle 6y ago
HN is, broadly speaking, ad free and has a high degree of technical experts. More people mean a broader dilution of the level of discourse and knowledge, and greater and greater incentives to market / spam / propagandize. ad free in the sense that there are no obviously in-your-face efforts at graphical marketing; HN is run by a strartup incubator and has a startup focus; flogging your latest release is the raison d'etre of the site.

To be the only one who knows about this and not to cultivate the competition

It’s frowned upon by true intellectuals because people discuss things they are not experts in: https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/the-lonely-work-of-moderating-hacker-news https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/th... It’s similar to recommending slate star codex to someone. Unless that person is comfortable with rationally discussing uncomfortable topics, they will think you a nut job who supports everything on the site.

AdrianB1 6y ago

HN is a very nice place that I feel bad telling people about it just to come and ruin it like many Internet forums I've seen in the past. From all the people I know there are maybe 5 that have a place here and most are already long time readers.

Eupolemos 6y ago
Yep, I never link to HN on social media. I'll talk about it in person with people I know at work or I'd mention it on my old blog - but I don't want to risk it to the "unwashed masses". But maybe I'm being too cautious - it is pretty in-depht here. That alone might dissuade most of the shitposters. And the karma-requirements for downvoting seem sufficient.

iratewizard 6y ago

Facebook, reddit, and 4chan are great examples of cautionary tales. Growth diluted the culture and alienated original users. 4chan for example, used to counter this with guroposting and attacking anyone who didn't do the what the hivemind would do. That's long since dead as the site is now under endless attack from law enforcement and decency police. Here, people can have uncomfortable conversations about contentious topics like IQ testing and leave learning something new. Try on reddit, and you'll leave learning the circlejerk's accepted take. Try on 4chan and you'll learn about your homosexual tendencies. Don't try on Facebook.

blaser-waffle 6y ago

HN is, broadly speaking, ad free and has a high degree of technical experts. More people mean a broader dilution of the level of discourse and knowledge, and greater and greater incentives to market / spam / propagandize. ad free in the sense that there are no obviously in-your-face efforts at graphical marketing; HN is run by a strartup incubator and has a startup focus; flogging your latest release is the raison d'etre of the site.