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Totally off-topic (except that it's linked from the article) but techcrunch's reddit clone is hilariously and pathetically empty. More on topic, I'd like to se
by ojbyrne 18y ago
Totally off-topic (except that it's linked from the article) but techcrunch's reddit clone is hilariously and pathetically empty.
More on topic, I'd like to see more options to customize the "editorial policy" of your site - how many votes to get promoted, how user karma works, how sites get blocked, manual overrides, and so on.
I find when I compare HN and Digg, I'm struck by how the sites have come to reflect the personalities of the people who founded them. Here it's hyper-technical and it makes you think twice about commenting frivolously, because of the potential for what seems like infinite downvoting and its effect on karma. Digg is pretty frivolous and all over the place, perhaps because karma is not visible to users, and downvoting doesn't have the same direct effect on karma.
My point being that the personalities behind the site shape the content - even if the engine is "democratic", the constant tweaking of that engine represents an editorial policy, just as much as a newspaper's.
- gruseom 18y agoI'm struck by how the sites have come to reflect the personalities of the people who founded them It's fascinating how companies (and other creations) tend to carry the personalities of the people who started them. In our world, Microsoft, Apple, Google are good examples... one could go on endlessly. There aren't many general principles that seem to hold up as well as this one does.
- byrneseyeview 18y agoI don't know anything about Larry and Sergei except through what they do at Google. So it's almost a tautology that their company would reflect what I know about them. I guess Jobs is a little different, but he's still synonymous with Apple to most people. Can you think of any business whose founder is independently famous, and who reflects your theory (e.g. a musician with a talent for improvisation, who started a company that constantly changes its business model)?
- brett 18y agoMore on topic, I'd like to see more options to customize the "editorial policy" of your site - how many votes to get promoted, how user karma works, how sites get blocked, manual overrides, and so on. Definitely. We've got a lot of ideas and plans along these lines. I think you're right on about the personality of the site admins shaping the content. Though in more ways than just choosing how the engine works.
- ojbyrne 18y agoThough in more ways than just choosing how the engine works.... I was being diplomatic. See my profile.