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Heh, the fact that (IMO) I don't comment that often but still am in the top 5k (rank 4228, 185 comments) just goes to show how all things considered HN is still

Heh, the fact that (IMO) I don't comment that often but still am in the top 5k (rank 4228, 185 comments) just goes to show how all things considered HN is still a very niche/small community.

simonbarker87 5y ago
I’m around the same position as you and was equally surprised - I feel like increasing that count would be more work than I’d want to put in though
- jgilias 5y ago
  Why would you want to increase the count though, right? I appreciate that HN is a kind of a community where people post when they actually have something to say. I mean, I often write a comment and then delete it before posting it if I figure it doesn't really add anything to the discussion. I actually feel like doing it for this comment too.
  - unbanned 5y ago
    You should have done
  - simonbarker87 5y ago
    Oh I didn’t mean “I want to increase my count but it would be work” I was just thinking that it’s probably one of those systems where doubling what I do now would take 4 times the effort as I’d need to read many more of the articles and other peoples comments so that it would go from casual browsing and commenting to “work” or my wife saying “you have a problem”
  - simonh 5y ago
    I’m glad you didn’t, completely on topic for this thread. I’m sure you’re speaking for an awful lot of people on HN, possibly a large majority. If you would like to contribute more, Caslon has a great post here with advice. It’s more than a game though, we all come here not just for the stories, but for the high quality comments. Contributing high quality comments is a real benefit to others, whether your gamifying it or not. Having the discipline not to comment when you don’t have a real contribution to make is also valuable, you’re being a good member of the community. I commented on this post almost an hour after first reading it. I wanted to be sure I had something I thought was worthwhile to say. Another way you can contribute is through voting, especially if you vote based not on agreement or disagreement, but on insightful or informative contribution to the debate.
secondaryacct 5y ago
I... have two accounts above yours (1k and 3k) wtf it's a small community indeed - I dont even work in a startup, the US, or care about YC lol. I post too much crap here :s Ill be more careful posting since it's easier to stand out than reddit then !
- Semaphor 5y ago
  Neither US, nor startup, nor caring about YC, rank 1174 ;)
  - mattowen_uk 5y ago
    #1194 here, same situation. I feel slightly less irrelevant now. ;)
    - noduerme 5y ago
      Well - yeah! Jeez. I never thought about relevance. I quit all my social media years ago. Buy I guess technically that puts our opinions in the top 0.01% of the internet; HN usually surfaces things about six hours ahead of the mob ;) FWIW, everyone I know who worries about their irrelevance to humanity or the zeitgeist is already someone who's contributed way more imagination and creativity than most other people. I feel irrelevant, too; I got to that feeling by proving to myself how little it means to build even the grandest projects, in the medium we work in (code). Recording music again, painting again, just remind me how irrelevant we all are. That's okay. It's in line with realizing you're not the only person with brains on earth; the dude your girlfriend leaves you for might have some brains too, he's not just a cartoon. There's a glimmer of reassurance there when you realize we're all just human. It means you're not expected to be relevant like Julius Caesar, just, it's enough be a good and humble craftsman who's appreciated and compensated for his work.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
itsbits 5y ago
It's very difficult in HN to put comment and gain points. Atleast for me. Tried couple of times. Downvoted most of times. So I just visit and read comments. Have been doing same for more than 7 years now. I am sure there are lots of readers like me.
- raxxorrax 5y ago
  It really depends on the topic as well. In the vast majority of cases people are reluctant to dish out any karma and your comment stays at one point. But that changes for some topics. I guess if you want to get more upvotes, articles about new Apple releases and similar stuff is most rewarding.
  - verdverm 5y ago
    The best is to comment early on a front page story, not necessarily a top-level, but if you land within a few folds of the top, more eyes more votes.
  - noduerme 5y ago
    It doesn't decrease your karma to upvote on this site, although that might not be the worst idea. Come to think of it, I'm not sure why other people are so stingy with upvotes. I vote pretty much everything I like.
- pferdone 5y ago
  I've been accused of shilling a product I genuinely enjoyed, because of the english I used. :) I think it seemed too exaggerated. But I'm no native, so what do I know. In the end who cares about upvotes.
  - jrockway 5y ago
    I shilled my own product once and it didn't get downvoted, but that day people started signing up with thousands of stolen credit cards. Dealing with the fraud that was a result of that post was probably one of the most interesting things in my career though, so I dunno, I guess HN delivered as always.
peoplefromibiza 5y ago
Same here, top 2.5k after 6 months and ~a couple hundred comments.

Heh, the fact that (IMO) I don't comment that often but still am in the top 5k (rank 4228, 185 comments) just goes to show how all things considered HN is still a very niche/small community.

simonbarker87 5y ago

I’m around the same position as you and was equally surprised - I feel like increasing that count would be more work than I’d want to put in though

jgilias 5y ago
Why would you want to increase the count though, right? I appreciate that HN is a kind of a community where people post when they actually have something to say. I mean, I often write a comment and then delete it before posting it if I figure it doesn't really add anything to the discussion. I actually feel like doing it for this comment too.
- unbanned 5y ago
  You should have done
- simonbarker87 5y ago
  Oh I didn’t mean “I want to increase my count but it would be work” I was just thinking that it’s probably one of those systems where doubling what I do now would take 4 times the effort as I’d need to read many more of the articles and other peoples comments so that it would go from casual browsing and commenting to “work” or my wife saying “you have a problem”
- simonh 5y ago
  I’m glad you didn’t, completely on topic for this thread. I’m sure you’re speaking for an awful lot of people on HN, possibly a large majority. If you would like to contribute more, Caslon has a great post here with advice. It’s more than a game though, we all come here not just for the stories, but for the high quality comments. Contributing high quality comments is a real benefit to others, whether your gamifying it or not. Having the discipline not to comment when you don’t have a real contribution to make is also valuable, you’re being a good member of the community. I commented on this post almost an hour after first reading it. I wanted to be sure I had something I thought was worthwhile to say. Another way you can contribute is through voting, especially if you vote based not on agreement or disagreement, but on insightful or informative contribution to the debate.

secondaryacct 5y ago

I... have two accounts above yours (1k and 3k) wtf it's a small community indeed - I dont even work in a startup, the US, or care about YC lol. I post too much crap here :s Ill be more careful posting since it's easier to stand out than reddit then !

Semaphor 5y ago
Neither US, nor startup, nor caring about YC, rank 1174 ;)
- mattowen_uk 5y ago
  #1194 here, same situation. I feel slightly less irrelevant now. ;)
  - noduerme 5y ago
    Well - yeah! Jeez. I never thought about relevance. I quit all my social media years ago. Buy I guess technically that puts our opinions in the top 0.01% of the internet; HN usually surfaces things about six hours ahead of the mob ;) FWIW, everyone I know who worries about their irrelevance to humanity or the zeitgeist is already someone who's contributed way more imagination and creativity than most other people. I feel irrelevant, too; I got to that feeling by proving to myself how little it means to build even the grandest projects, in the medium we work in (code). Recording music again, painting again, just remind me how irrelevant we all are. That's okay. It's in line with realizing you're not the only person with brains on earth; the dude your girlfriend leaves you for might have some brains too, he's not just a cartoon. There's a glimmer of reassurance there when you realize we're all just human. It means you're not expected to be relevant like Julius Caesar, just, it's enough be a good and humble craftsman who's appreciated and compensated for his work.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]

itsbits 5y ago

It's very difficult in HN to put comment and gain points. Atleast for me. Tried couple of times. Downvoted most of times. So I just visit and read comments. Have been doing same for more than 7 years now. I am sure there are lots of readers like me.

raxxorrax 5y ago
It really depends on the topic as well. In the vast majority of cases people are reluctant to dish out any karma and your comment stays at one point. But that changes for some topics. I guess if you want to get more upvotes, articles about new Apple releases and similar stuff is most rewarding.
- verdverm 5y ago
  The best is to comment early on a front page story, not necessarily a top-level, but if you land within a few folds of the top, more eyes more votes.
- noduerme 5y ago
  It doesn't decrease your karma to upvote on this site, although that might not be the worst idea. Come to think of it, I'm not sure why other people are so stingy with upvotes. I vote pretty much everything I like.
pferdone 5y ago
I've been accused of shilling a product I genuinely enjoyed, because of the english I used. :) I think it seemed too exaggerated. But I'm no native, so what do I know. In the end who cares about upvotes.
- jrockway 5y ago
  I shilled my own product once and it didn't get downvoted, but that day people started signing up with thousands of stolen credit cards. Dealing with the fraud that was a result of that post was probably one of the most interesting things in my career though, so I dunno, I guess HN delivered as always.

peoplefromibiza 5y ago

Same here, top 2.5k after 6 months and ~a couple hundred comments.