4 ms·

It is obvious to anyone who has been here for a while that this community is in decline, in the sense that it has less depth, less quirkiness, and less 'real' d

It is obvious to anyone who has been here for a while that this community is in decline, in the sense that it has less depth, less quirkiness, and less 'real' diversity of opinion (although dang does a good job of stemming the tide). The 'hivemind' has emerged here to squash contrasting positions. The funny thing is, no one thinks they are a part of this emergent 'hivemind' but the end result is the same.

conductr 5y ago
I think it has more to do with discourse in general declining and HN isn’t immune but it explains why no one thinks they’re a part of it
newsbinator 5y ago
I’m guessing the hive mind largely lurks and doesn’t post or comment.
- emerged 5y ago
  I read daily but rarely feel compelled to comment. Those relatively rare comments also rarely receive an up or down vote. I’m generally amazed how often the more prolific posters comment.
no_time 5y ago
Saying community is in constant decline is such an internet thing. A certain other website with a blue background and trumpets has been full of messages like this for the last 20 years, yet it's still a fun place to lurk. HN is one of the few places on the internet where you can play devil's advocate and still live to see the top of the comments page because the number of people who read half sentences and instantly flag/downvote is very low. I think this is one of the biggest things setting it apart from Reddit.
- kkoncevicius 5y ago
  > Saying community is in constant decline is such an internet thing. A certain other website with a blue background and trumpets has been full of messages like this for the last 20 years, yet it's still a fun place to lurk. But repeatedly saying that something is in decline doesn't mean that there is no decline. Also something can be in decline and still remain a fun place for a long time. Both can be true at the same time.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  Except that it's really true. This is a rearguard action and has been for a long time. 'Attacked from within' was pretty accurate, Kuro5hin eventually went that way too even if they were acutely aware of the problem: https://atdt.freeshell.org/k5/story_2009_3_12_33338_3000.html https://atdt.freeshell.org/k5/story_2009_3_12_33338_3000.htm...
vultour 5y ago
I noticed an increasing number of flagged comments that do not violate any guidelines lately. I feel like it's slowly approaching the state of Reddit where unwelcome opinions are quickly removed. One would expect this to happen in polarising discussions such as politics, but interestingly it's happening on random tech topics as well.

conductr 5y ago

I think it has more to do with discourse in general declining and HN isn’t immune but it explains why no one thinks they’re a part of it

newsbinator 5y ago

I’m guessing the hive mind largely lurks and doesn’t post or comment.

emerged 5y ago
I read daily but rarely feel compelled to comment. Those relatively rare comments also rarely receive an up or down vote. I’m generally amazed how often the more prolific posters comment.

no_time 5y ago

Saying community is in constant decline is such an internet thing. A certain other website with a blue background and trumpets has been full of messages like this for the last 20 years, yet it's still a fun place to lurk. HN is one of the few places on the internet where you can play devil's advocate and still live to see the top of the comments page because the number of people who read half sentences and instantly flag/downvote is very low. I think this is one of the biggest things setting it apart from Reddit.

kkoncevicius 5y ago
> Saying community is in constant decline is such an internet thing. A certain other website with a blue background and trumpets has been full of messages like this for the last 20 years, yet it's still a fun place to lurk. But repeatedly saying that something is in decline doesn't mean that there is no decline. Also something can be in decline and still remain a fun place for a long time. Both can be true at the same time.
jacquesm 5y ago
Except that it's really true. This is a rearguard action and has been for a long time. 'Attacked from within' was pretty accurate, Kuro5hin eventually went that way too even if they were acutely aware of the problem: https://atdt.freeshell.org/k5/story_2009_3_12_33338_3000.html https://atdt.freeshell.org/k5/story_2009_3_12_33338_3000.htm...

vultour 5y ago

I noticed an increasing number of flagged comments that do not violate any guidelines lately. I feel like it's slowly approaching the state of Reddit where unwelcome opinions are quickly removed. One would expect this to happen in polarising discussions such as politics, but interestingly it's happening on random tech topics as well.