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I had similar feelings about a lot of top comments in here, and more generally about this place recently. I don’t know if it’s just an influx of users but thing

I had similar feelings about a lot of top comments in here, and more generally about this place recently. I don’t know if it’s just an influx of users but things feel different these days.

abakker 6y ago
There's a bit of the echo chamber, too. I for one don't read enough positive posts, and yet it is these remembrances and positive feelings about the work so many of us do that makes it feel worth it. If HN was all positive, it wouldn't work, but it seems at its best (to me) when it is equal parts enthusiasm, optimism, and criticism.
- wolco2 6y ago
  The show us and ask us sections are more positive with helpful comments. The main page is more negative but often brings up cold truths.
1123581321 6y ago
I figured it was some kind of COVID effect. Also, tastes are probably changing just as many users get the hang of the previously popular house styles of commenting, so patience from more established, better read or experienced users is extra short.
rurp 6y ago
Given how many discussions revolve around the big tech companies here, it might just be a matter of more people souring on them. Unfortunately it's often easier for a company that dominates a market to use that leverage to squeeze out more revenue than it is for them to produce exciting innovations; something we're seeing play out a lot these days. I still see a lot of excited comments about companies I have little to no knowledge of, and have found some neat products through those discussions.
eat_veggies 6y ago
Tech companies are no longer underdogs, and entrepreneurs are no longer plucky heroes. Our actions have consequences -- outsized ones, at this point -- and things feel different because they are different.
mmckelvy 6y ago
It's true that a lot of the optimism around tech startups has waned over the past few years, and this trend has accelerated during 2020. Not just here on HN but in the U.S. more broadly. I think a big piece of it is that current the crop of tech startups going public are largely unprofitable companies whose only "innovation" in many people's eyes has been skirting laws and foisting negative externalities on the broader public. These companies have also risen while the cities in which they are based (i.e. San Francisco) have deteriorated substantially. All in all, the perception is that the current startup ecosystem isn't producing the same innovative, profitable companies that "lift all boats" the way it used to, and the increasing negativity and cynicism here likely reflects that.
- 205guy 6y ago
  This is a great distillation of the issues, getting to the second order effects. I hope @pg thinks about this.
throwaway03857 6y ago
I think it's that a lot of us are older and wiser now and having lived through 30 years of VC driven hyper capitalism now look around and see that actually it's made life significantly more insecure and just generally shittier for most people except billionaires and FAANG drones. Of course if you're a billionaire or FAANG drone you probably don't want to acknowledge this.

I had similar feelings about a lot of top comments in here, and more generally about this place recently. I don’t know if it’s just an influx of users but things feel different these days.

abakker 6y ago

There's a bit of the echo chamber, too. I for one don't read enough positive posts, and yet it is these remembrances and positive feelings about the work so many of us do that makes it feel worth it. If HN was all positive, it wouldn't work, but it seems at its best (to me) when it is equal parts enthusiasm, optimism, and criticism.

wolco2 6y ago
The show us and ask us sections are more positive with helpful comments. The main page is more negative but often brings up cold truths.

1123581321 6y ago

I figured it was some kind of COVID effect. Also, tastes are probably changing just as many users get the hang of the previously popular house styles of commenting, so patience from more established, better read or experienced users is extra short.

rurp 6y ago

Given how many discussions revolve around the big tech companies here, it might just be a matter of more people souring on them. Unfortunately it's often easier for a company that dominates a market to use that leverage to squeeze out more revenue than it is for them to produce exciting innovations; something we're seeing play out a lot these days. I still see a lot of excited comments about companies I have little to no knowledge of, and have found some neat products through those discussions.

eat_veggies 6y ago

Tech companies are no longer underdogs, and entrepreneurs are no longer plucky heroes. Our actions have consequences -- outsized ones, at this point -- and things feel different because they are different.

mmckelvy 6y ago

It's true that a lot of the optimism around tech startups has waned over the past few years, and this trend has accelerated during 2020. Not just here on HN but in the U.S. more broadly. I think a big piece of it is that current the crop of tech startups going public are largely unprofitable companies whose only "innovation" in many people's eyes has been skirting laws and foisting negative externalities on the broader public. These companies have also risen while the cities in which they are based (i.e. San Francisco) have deteriorated substantially. All in all, the perception is that the current startup ecosystem isn't producing the same innovative, profitable companies that "lift all boats" the way it used to, and the increasing negativity and cynicism here likely reflects that.

205guy 6y ago
This is a great distillation of the issues, getting to the second order effects. I hope @pg thinks about this.

throwaway03857 6y ago

I think it's that a lot of us are older and wiser now and having lived through 30 years of VC driven hyper capitalism now look around and see that actually it's made life significantly more insecure and just generally shittier for most people except billionaires and FAANG drones. Of course if you're a billionaire or FAANG drone you probably don't want to acknowledge this.