4 ms·

It seems that the user base here has been deteriorating and the focus has been drifting away from the SV startup scene. I've also been noticing a growing politi

It seems that the user base here has been deteriorating and the focus has been drifting away from the SV startup scene. I've also been noticing a growing political atmosphere that is in opposition to SV norms. A sign of the times probably, but I also suspect that HN's usefulness to Ycombinator is fading.

chrisseaton 5y ago
Massive technical military contracts seems extremely SV to me? Isn't that where it all started?
- AndrewBissell 5y ago
  Presumably "SV norms" here refers to the expectation that one does not ever explicitly acknowledge this element in Silicon Valley's history, lest it undermine the "plucky dudes in a garage" mystique.
- justinzollars 5y ago
  This is all geopolitics. nothing about technology or specifics on anything interesting.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    > nothing about technology Well the whole point is that they've switched technology from diesel to nuclear, based on changing user requirements. Agile, if you like!
    - redis_mlc 5y ago
      The word you're looking for is "pivot."
sergiomattei 5y ago
> Please don't post comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. It's a semi-noob illusion, as old as the hills. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- Kiro 5y ago
  You know what else is as old as the hills? Those guidelines. https://web.archive.org/web/20140702092610/https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://web.archive.org/web/20140702092610/https://news.ycom... It might have been an illusion before but I personally think HN feels more like Reddit nowadays compared to then.
  - varelse 5y ago
    Society is becoming Reddit and it seems HN is following suit. The next logical step is for society to become 4chan, and we are off to a smashing start here, no?
    - unclebucknasty 5y ago
      Do you think the mod(s) here are aware? I know they're working hard, and I have no idea how dang has done this job for so long. I don't always agree with him, but I recognize the incredible (and incredibly difficult) job he does. Still, I sometimes wonder if there is some internal denial around the chang(ing/ed) culture of HN.
  - unclebucknasty 5y ago
    >You know what else is as old as the hills? Those guidelines. Funny part is the guidelines link to old posts that show how long people have been complaining that HN is becoming Reddit, as if this is proof it can't possibly be true. But, what it really shows is how much time has passed since they've declared that HN isn't becoming Reddit. Is it impossible for something to have changed in those ~15 years? It also states that this is just a noob misperception. Fair enough. So, what does it say when long time HN users--who previously did not make this comparison--start to do so?
- dougmwne 5y ago
  I think after 14 years here we're allowed a moment of self-reflection.
Zababa 5y ago
> I've also been noticing a growing political atmosphere that is in opposition to SV norms Genuinly curious, what are "SV norms"? I think most of the people here don't come from SV, and I think this has been the case for a large part of HN existance, but I have nothing to prove it.
- dougmwne 5y ago
  There's always been a heavy SV startup scene slant to the user base here, especially around YC incubated companies. The politics have historically been a sort of hybrid Cyber Libertarian/California Progressivism. I sense the SV bias is fading away and also that the politics (tech focused and otherwise) have very much evolved from where they were in 2007. For example, I detect a conservative element here that Reddit has actively been trying to expunge. I think it's mainly a result of the moderation probably taking a more permissive approach and the US political climate getting ever more divisive. Plus, there just seems like there's less to talk about in the startup scene these days, mobile is now long in the tooth and much of the focus has shifted to maturing regulation.
  - Zababa 5y ago
    I wonder if part of it is also due to people getting older.
Dobbs 5y ago
Totally agree, if you want proof of the paradox of tolerance look around HN. In the sake of being tolerant to misogynistic, homophobic, racist, and transphobic posts and comments it has chased away many people leaving more and more the ugliness behind. Most women, and trans people I know despise and avoid the site at this point. All you have to do is look at the comments any time something even tangentially related to women’s experiences in tech or when tech impacts women to see it.
- Leparamour 5y ago
  Interestingly I have the opposite impression: How political activists from the US American SJW spectrum are trying to politicize HN by pushing Critical Race Theory and leftist political pieces from Axios, the NYT or NPR to the frontpage and then using downvoting to silence criticism.
- dougmwne 5y ago
  You are getting downvoted, but I think you hit the nail on the head there. There is an increasingly strong "disaffected male" contingent here. It's allowed because we're extra adult here and can handle some divergent opinions, at least so the theory goes. Unfortunately it's starting to feel downright gross at times and I can absolutely understand why a woman would not feel welcome here. These are the hard to swallow pills, but it's happening all the same.
caycep 5y ago
I would say politics is germane to everything tech; just tech folks don't like to think of it this way. But it can't be ignored since Big Tech, social media, miniaturization of computers, etc, have arguably played an integral role in every major political event in the past half decade or so - in particular, 2016 election, social media and police brutality, occupy protests, hollowing out of old industry/labor in favor of new industry/labor, Amazon and labor, Tesla and climate change/petrochemical policy, China and everything, especially labor, semiconductors, etc, 2020 election, Jan 6, Republican party thought control... Defense uses a lot of tech And besides, I think HN tech community tends to be intellectually curious anyway

chrisseaton 5y ago

Massive technical military contracts seems extremely SV to me? Isn't that where it all started?

AndrewBissell 5y ago
Presumably "SV norms" here refers to the expectation that one does not ever explicitly acknowledge this element in Silicon Valley's history, lest it undermine the "plucky dudes in a garage" mystique.
justinzollars 5y ago
This is all geopolitics. nothing about technology or specifics on anything interesting.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  > nothing about technology Well the whole point is that they've switched technology from diesel to nuclear, based on changing user requirements. Agile, if you like!
  - redis_mlc 5y ago
    The word you're looking for is "pivot."

sergiomattei 5y ago

> Please don't post comments saying that HN is turning into Reddit. It's a semi-noob illusion, as old as the hills. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Kiro 5y ago
You know what else is as old as the hills? Those guidelines. https://web.archive.org/web/20140702092610/https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://web.archive.org/web/20140702092610/https://news.ycom... It might have been an illusion before but I personally think HN feels more like Reddit nowadays compared to then.
- varelse 5y ago
  Society is becoming Reddit and it seems HN is following suit. The next logical step is for society to become 4chan, and we are off to a smashing start here, no?
  - unclebucknasty 5y ago
    Do you think the mod(s) here are aware? I know they're working hard, and I have no idea how dang has done this job for so long. I don't always agree with him, but I recognize the incredible (and incredibly difficult) job he does. Still, I sometimes wonder if there is some internal denial around the chang(ing/ed) culture of HN.
- unclebucknasty 5y ago
  >You know what else is as old as the hills? Those guidelines. Funny part is the guidelines link to old posts that show how long people have been complaining that HN is becoming Reddit, as if this is proof it can't possibly be true. But, what it really shows is how much time has passed since they've declared that HN isn't becoming Reddit. Is it impossible for something to have changed in those ~15 years? It also states that this is just a noob misperception. Fair enough. So, what does it say when long time HN users--who previously did not make this comparison--start to do so?
dougmwne 5y ago
I think after 14 years here we're allowed a moment of self-reflection.

Zababa 5y ago

> I've also been noticing a growing political atmosphere that is in opposition to SV norms Genuinly curious, what are "SV norms"? I think most of the people here don't come from SV, and I think this has been the case for a large part of HN existance, but I have nothing to prove it.

dougmwne 5y ago
There's always been a heavy SV startup scene slant to the user base here, especially around YC incubated companies. The politics have historically been a sort of hybrid Cyber Libertarian/California Progressivism. I sense the SV bias is fading away and also that the politics (tech focused and otherwise) have very much evolved from where they were in 2007. For example, I detect a conservative element here that Reddit has actively been trying to expunge. I think it's mainly a result of the moderation probably taking a more permissive approach and the US political climate getting ever more divisive. Plus, there just seems like there's less to talk about in the startup scene these days, mobile is now long in the tooth and much of the focus has shifted to maturing regulation.
- Zababa 5y ago
  I wonder if part of it is also due to people getting older.

Dobbs 5y ago

Totally agree, if you want proof of the paradox of tolerance look around HN. In the sake of being tolerant to misogynistic, homophobic, racist, and transphobic posts and comments it has chased away many people leaving more and more the ugliness behind. Most women, and trans people I know despise and avoid the site at this point. All you have to do is look at the comments any time something even tangentially related to women’s experiences in tech or when tech impacts women to see it.

Leparamour 5y ago
Interestingly I have the opposite impression: How political activists from the US American SJW spectrum are trying to politicize HN by pushing Critical Race Theory and leftist political pieces from Axios, the NYT or NPR to the frontpage and then using downvoting to silence criticism.
dougmwne 5y ago
You are getting downvoted, but I think you hit the nail on the head there. There is an increasingly strong "disaffected male" contingent here. It's allowed because we're extra adult here and can handle some divergent opinions, at least so the theory goes. Unfortunately it's starting to feel downright gross at times and I can absolutely understand why a woman would not feel welcome here. These are the hard to swallow pills, but it's happening all the same.

caycep 5y ago

I would say politics is germane to everything tech; just tech folks don't like to think of it this way. But it can't be ignored since Big Tech, social media, miniaturization of computers, etc, have arguably played an integral role in every major political event in the past half decade or so - in particular, 2016 election, social media and police brutality, occupy protests, hollowing out of old industry/labor in favor of new industry/labor, Amazon and labor, Tesla and climate change/petrochemical policy, China and everything, especially labor, semiconductors, etc, 2020 election, Jan 6, Republican party thought control... Defense uses a lot of tech And besides, I think HN tech community tends to be intellectually curious anyway