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HN isn't a moneymaker. It's a goodwill-maker and brand-maker for YC so it's better for them to keep it the way it is.
by ngokevin 6y ago
HN isn't a moneymaker. It's a goodwill-maker and brand-maker for YC so it's better for them to keep it the way it is.
- krapp 6y agoCome on. HN gives YCombinator some measure of "street cred" in the tech community, it gives visibility to startups (especially YC's.) It's the water cooler where people gather trying to appear innovative and thought-leaderish just in case sama or pg wander by. Obviously it's a moneymaker. The goodwill and the brand make money. The low-tech anti-modern anti-business aesthetic makes money. There's a reason this forum is a subdomain of a venture capital firm. I agree that they shouldn't (and probably won't) change in Reddit's direction but only because they don't need to. Why bother with ads when your entire culture is in essence an ad funnel?
- ngokevin 6y agopedantic. obv i mean not a moneymaker as in direct money.