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Honestly I’m glad it doesn’t. Reply notifications may increase engagement, but I’d argue they reduce the quality of discussion, since such notifications would

Honestly I’m glad it doesn’t. Reply notifications may increase engagement, but I’d argue they reduce the quality of discussion, since such notifications would encourage rapid back and forth arguments.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
wodenokoto 5y ago
I believe this is also the official reason
- masklinn 5y ago
  It mostly does the opposite because it means getting replies quickly tapers off. After a few days the odds of keeping up a discussion are low, and older discussions are baiscally locked out forever.
  - criddell 5y ago
    Reducing back-and-forth discussions is a feature. Look at any post that gets a significant number of comments and then scroll to pick out the deepest threads. When the depth comes from lots of people adding information or opinions, the quality is generally pretty high. When the depth comes from a small number of people going back-and-forth, it’s usually not very interesting. Adding more of the latter type would make HN worse and that’s what you would get more of if they made HN work more like Reddit.
    - masklinn 5y ago
      > Reducing back-and-forth discussions is a feature. So your opinion is that discussions are bad. > When the depth comes from lots of people adding information or opinions, the quality is generally pretty high. That's not a discussion that’s a lot if people broadcasting into the void (it’s also not true, if lots of people are replying to the same comment they’re usually adding identical or strongly overlapping information on a relatively basic subject).
account42 5y ago
They could do delayed notifications. Not having them at all sucks because you are pretty much guaranteed not to see replies to older comments.
- seanw444 5y ago
  I just remember to check the comments in my profile page and see how much my past comments have been replied to.
  - sgc 5y ago
    I used to do that, but you can just click "threads".
    - PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
      How does that differ from the "Comments" link in the user profile page?
      - davidivadavid 5y ago
        It's 1 click vs. 2 clicks away.
      - hypertele-Xii 5y ago
        It doesn't. It's the same exact page.
    - spyke112 5y ago
      Mind blowing! I had not spotted that feature yet.
      - sgc 5y ago
        Honestly it's hilarious how much attention this is getting. It's a link that took me several years to find. It's the second link on the page. And a bunch of IT pros are delighted to find it! Ux is hard. Personally, I had clicked the "comments" link and it was not what I was looking for, and then it took a moment of curiosity several years later to try again. I think the moral of the story is, if you want something to be discoverable, don't hide it behind a less obvious naming choice when the more obvious looking choice is used nearby. But who knows.
mFixman 5y ago
The problem is that old discussions become effectively invisible. If I reply to a post or comment that's over several days old there's almost no chance the author will ever see it.
- InCityDreams 5y ago
  As an ccasional replier, that's a plus for me. If I am interested in the past, I can go look (and I have done), and then reply. Look forward to reading your reply....perhaps in a couple of months.
- mindcrime 5y ago
  If I reply to a post or comment that's over several days old there's almost no chance the author will ever see it. That is a Good Thing.
  - warrenm 5y ago
    No, it's not If you ask a question, and I happen to see it a couple days later and can answer it, why would you not want to see said answer?
    - scythe 5y ago
      If I actually still need an answer to the question, I'll be checking my threads. Otherwise, I'd prefer not to be interrupted by someone's nitpicking a point I made about wastewater management three days ago or something; it's unnecessary stress. I find reddit's reply notifications to be a stressful anti-feature, and they're a primary reason that reddit is IP-blocked on my work laptop while HN is not.
    - mindcrime 5y ago
      An edge case like that isn't really the point. I mean, what percentage of "responses to old comments" fall into that bucket? My guess is that it's a very small percentage. Weighed against the "propagating / encouraging low-value flame wars" possibility, I absolutely consider the lack of such notifications to a Good Thing. Especially considering somebody who's particularly motivated to find delayed answers to specific questions can always bookmark the particular comment and check it manually, or just occasionally scroll-back through the "threads" page or whatever. If they're not motivated enough to do that, then maybe the discussion wasn't that important to begin with.
loa_in_ 5y ago
I'm more interested in replies to replies to my comments anyway most of the time.
pictur 5y ago
this question is posted 2-3 times a month. and this answer is written all the time. and it goes to the top. hn cycles
barbazoo 5y ago
I do agree with that. I wonder if it'd be better to show one's threads as a chronological list as opposed to a tree.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

wodenokoto 5y ago

I believe this is also the official reason

masklinn 5y ago
It mostly does the opposite because it means getting replies quickly tapers off. After a few days the odds of keeping up a discussion are low, and older discussions are baiscally locked out forever.
- criddell 5y ago
  Reducing back-and-forth discussions is a feature. Look at any post that gets a significant number of comments and then scroll to pick out the deepest threads. When the depth comes from lots of people adding information or opinions, the quality is generally pretty high. When the depth comes from a small number of people going back-and-forth, it’s usually not very interesting. Adding more of the latter type would make HN worse and that’s what you would get more of if they made HN work more like Reddit.
  - masklinn 5y ago
    > Reducing back-and-forth discussions is a feature. So your opinion is that discussions are bad. > When the depth comes from lots of people adding information or opinions, the quality is generally pretty high. That's not a discussion that’s a lot if people broadcasting into the void (it’s also not true, if lots of people are replying to the same comment they’re usually adding identical or strongly overlapping information on a relatively basic subject).

account42 5y ago

They could do delayed notifications. Not having them at all sucks because you are pretty much guaranteed not to see replies to older comments.

seanw444 5y ago
I just remember to check the comments in my profile page and see how much my past comments have been replied to.
- sgc 5y ago
  I used to do that, but you can just click "threads".
  - PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
    How does that differ from the "Comments" link in the user profile page?
    - davidivadavid 5y ago
      It's 1 click vs. 2 clicks away.
    - hypertele-Xii 5y ago
      It doesn't. It's the same exact page.
  - spyke112 5y ago
    Mind blowing! I had not spotted that feature yet.
    - sgc 5y ago
      Honestly it's hilarious how much attention this is getting. It's a link that took me several years to find. It's the second link on the page. And a bunch of IT pros are delighted to find it! Ux is hard. Personally, I had clicked the "comments" link and it was not what I was looking for, and then it took a moment of curiosity several years later to try again. I think the moral of the story is, if you want something to be discoverable, don't hide it behind a less obvious naming choice when the more obvious looking choice is used nearby. But who knows.

mFixman 5y ago

The problem is that old discussions become effectively invisible. If I reply to a post or comment that's over several days old there's almost no chance the author will ever see it.

InCityDreams 5y ago
As an ccasional replier, that's a plus for me. If I am interested in the past, I can go look (and I have done), and then reply. Look forward to reading your reply....perhaps in a couple of months.
mindcrime 5y ago
If I reply to a post or comment that's over several days old there's almost no chance the author will ever see it. That is a Good Thing.
- warrenm 5y ago
  No, it's not If you ask a question, and I happen to see it a couple days later and can answer it, why would you not want to see said answer?
  - scythe 5y ago
    If I actually still need an answer to the question, I'll be checking my threads. Otherwise, I'd prefer not to be interrupted by someone's nitpicking a point I made about wastewater management three days ago or something; it's unnecessary stress. I find reddit's reply notifications to be a stressful anti-feature, and they're a primary reason that reddit is IP-blocked on my work laptop while HN is not.
  - mindcrime 5y ago
    An edge case like that isn't really the point. I mean, what percentage of "responses to old comments" fall into that bucket? My guess is that it's a very small percentage. Weighed against the "propagating / encouraging low-value flame wars" possibility, I absolutely consider the lack of such notifications to a Good Thing. Especially considering somebody who's particularly motivated to find delayed answers to specific questions can always bookmark the particular comment and check it manually, or just occasionally scroll-back through the "threads" page or whatever. If they're not motivated enough to do that, then maybe the discussion wasn't that important to begin with.

loa_in_ 5y ago

I'm more interested in replies to replies to my comments anyway most of the time.

pictur 5y ago

this question is posted 2-3 times a month. and this answer is written all the time. and it goes to the top. hn cycles

barbazoo 5y ago

I do agree with that. I wonder if it'd be better to show one's threads as a chronological list as opposed to a tree.