3 ms·

To pull back the camera a bit: Hey, HN type people: How can we build a network of people and sites like this to replace the inferior process of adding "reddit

by jrm4 4y ago

To pull back the camera a bit: Hey, HN type people: How can we build a network of people and sites like this to replace the inferior process of adding "reddit" to the Google searches to actually find useful information?

InvaderFizz 4y ago
I guess the question is how do you prevent astroturfing and how do you fund it? Wirecutter being a prime example, they tend to exclude products they can't get an affiliate link for. So their incentives are not always aligned with yours.
- 90minuteAPI 4y ago
  I knew something had to be up with them. It’s bad when I come across a round-up or comparison that fails to even mention my top options, and that seems to be the norm over there.
bfors 4y ago
It's amazing how much more useful this site is than anything I've found on google recently
ARussell 4y ago
Kagi (a search engine you pay for) has a feature called Lenses. One of the default lenses is for "Discussions". It's been quite helpful for me, personally, so far.
StrictDabbler 4y ago
That part's easy. The hard part is that, as soon as it's a trusted source, somebody shows up with sacks of money. That whole mattress review scandal with Sleepopolis and HonestMattressReviews shows exactly what happens when sites like this get big. So they need to stay small and secret. Unfortunate.
lastofthemojito 4y ago
I wish Google would add an advanced search parameter, maybe called "Unpolished discussion" for this reason (but to include forums, etc - results beyond just Reddit). I was looking at vacation destinations recently, and considering taking a toddler, and Google searches for things like "Destination A vs Destination B" or "Destination A with toddlers" led to so much SEO junk. Ads for shiny e-books with regurgitated information, text that was clearly robot-generated, etc. Then adding "reddit" to the end of the searches does get you to helpful discussion from everyday people. Sure, you might have to read between the lines ("oh, this person seems unwilling to pay more than Motel 6 rates", "oh, this person seems like they might be afraid of black people", etc). Sure, the info might be out of date, or otherwise in need of verification. But you can quickly accumulate some useful ideas that the shinier SEO-optimized junk sites just don't seem to provide.
- jeffbee 4y ago
  Well, thanks to HN's durability and Google's crawler we can count on being able to find this site as "that unbelievably ugly wet-dry vacuum database" hereafter.
- vestrigi 4y ago
  Practicing that often gives me the feeling that I just need any opinion about one of the many choices. Only after that I can commit to eg. buying something but I still know that I most likely only scratched the surface. I can't just try things out, I need to conclude first that I won't be able to pick the best option. Or just trust the one random person on reddit that was satisfied with his or her choice like it's your best friend.
  - StrictDabbler 4y ago
    Any real review is like a vector basis. It establishes a universe in which you can evaluate the claims. Take this one-star review of a wet-dry vac: "I bought this thing specifically to suck out the ash in my fireplace. It got use with some other projects like small wood chips and sawdust before I tackled the fireplace, and it did fine. Then I put it to task. It sucked up maybe 1/5 capacity of dust and just stopped." If the top rated one-star review for this consumer-level vacuum is that the filter immediately clogs when you *SUCK UP ASH FROM A FIREPLACE* then I know hey, this one-star reviewer doesn't understand vacuums. So yeah, as long as you find one guy on Reddit who's really happy with the vacuum and the one-star reviews are stupid, you've got a good product.
throwaway0a5e 4y ago
You don't. Anything large enough to be useful as a destination for that info is large enough to be gamed. And that's assuming you can even amass useful information. For every useful bit of information you will have to filter out ten dolts who just want to hype whatever premium product they bought in order to self-justify the purchase (see for example Reddit's penchant for certain brands in certain product categories).
natch 4y ago
Good question. I’m the meantime before such a site exists, the (imperfect) solution is to do research as well as you can, and only buy products from vendors who offer a good return policy. In the US, Costco comes to mind. And be brutal about returning stuff that is not great.
Spooky23 4y ago
We could revisit the ancient practice of hosting websites.
amelius 4y ago
Yes, I'm looking for some quality active speakers at a good price/performance point. But it seems like the entire market is trying to con me. Same for buying kitchens, mattresses, cars ...
- dsr_ 4y ago
  Do you have a particular price point in mind? And have you looked at audiosciencereview ?
hubraumhugo 4y ago
We're trying to build such a network of sites at https://Looria.com https://Looria.com. We aggregate and summarize the most trusted product reviews on the web from sources like Reddit, Youtube, or Consumer Reports. Just like Rotten Tomatoes provides trustworthy ratings for movies, Looria offers ratings and reviews for all kinds of products. We focus on keeping track of and removing the special status of sources caught getting paid to write fake reviews. Some categories are more prone to astroturfing than others, and we account for that by restricting the sources. Actively curating the sources is part of our daily work.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

by jrm4 4y ago

InvaderFizz 4y ago

I guess the question is how do you prevent astroturfing and how do you fund it? Wirecutter being a prime example, they tend to exclude products they can't get an affiliate link for. So their incentives are not always aligned with yours.

90minuteAPI 4y ago
I knew something had to be up with them. It’s bad when I come across a round-up or comparison that fails to even mention my top options, and that seems to be the norm over there.

bfors 4y ago

It's amazing how much more useful this site is than anything I've found on google recently

ARussell 4y ago

Kagi (a search engine you pay for) has a feature called Lenses. One of the default lenses is for "Discussions". It's been quite helpful for me, personally, so far.

StrictDabbler 4y ago

That part's easy. The hard part is that, as soon as it's a trusted source, somebody shows up with sacks of money. That whole mattress review scandal with Sleepopolis and HonestMattressReviews shows exactly what happens when sites like this get big. So they need to stay small and secret. Unfortunate.

lastofthemojito 4y ago

I wish Google would add an advanced search parameter, maybe called "Unpolished discussion" for this reason (but to include forums, etc - results beyond just Reddit). I was looking at vacation destinations recently, and considering taking a toddler, and Google searches for things like "Destination A vs Destination B" or "Destination A with toddlers" led to so much SEO junk. Ads for shiny e-books with regurgitated information, text that was clearly robot-generated, etc. Then adding "reddit" to the end of the searches does get you to helpful discussion from everyday people. Sure, you might have to read between the lines ("oh, this person seems unwilling to pay more than Motel 6 rates", "oh, this person seems like they might be afraid of black people", etc). Sure, the info might be out of date, or otherwise in need of verification. But you can quickly accumulate some useful ideas that the shinier SEO-optimized junk sites just don't seem to provide.

jeffbee 4y ago
Well, thanks to HN's durability and Google's crawler we can count on being able to find this site as "that unbelievably ugly wet-dry vacuum database" hereafter.
vestrigi 4y ago
Practicing that often gives me the feeling that I just need any opinion about one of the many choices. Only after that I can commit to eg. buying something but I still know that I most likely only scratched the surface. I can't just try things out, I need to conclude first that I won't be able to pick the best option. Or just trust the one random person on reddit that was satisfied with his or her choice like it's your best friend.
- StrictDabbler 4y ago
  Any real review is like a vector basis. It establishes a universe in which you can evaluate the claims. Take this one-star review of a wet-dry vac: "I bought this thing specifically to suck out the ash in my fireplace. It got use with some other projects like small wood chips and sawdust before I tackled the fireplace, and it did fine. Then I put it to task. It sucked up maybe 1/5 capacity of dust and just stopped." If the top rated one-star review for this consumer-level vacuum is that the filter immediately clogs when you *SUCK UP ASH FROM A FIREPLACE* then I know hey, this one-star reviewer doesn't understand vacuums. So yeah, as long as you find one guy on Reddit who's really happy with the vacuum and the one-star reviews are stupid, you've got a good product.

throwaway0a5e 4y ago

You don't. Anything large enough to be useful as a destination for that info is large enough to be gamed. And that's assuming you can even amass useful information. For every useful bit of information you will have to filter out ten dolts who just want to hype whatever premium product they bought in order to self-justify the purchase (see for example Reddit's penchant for certain brands in certain product categories).

natch 4y ago

Good question. I’m the meantime before such a site exists, the (imperfect) solution is to do research as well as you can, and only buy products from vendors who offer a good return policy. In the US, Costco comes to mind. And be brutal about returning stuff that is not great.

Spooky23 4y ago

We could revisit the ancient practice of hosting websites.

amelius 4y ago

Yes, I'm looking for some quality active speakers at a good price/performance point. But it seems like the entire market is trying to con me. Same for buying kitchens, mattresses, cars ...

dsr_ 4y ago
Do you have a particular price point in mind? And have you looked at audiosciencereview ?

hubraumhugo 4y ago

We're trying to build such a network of sites at https://Looria.com https://Looria.com. We aggregate and summarize the most trusted product reviews on the web from sources like Reddit, Youtube, or Consumer Reports. Just like Rotten Tomatoes provides trustworthy ratings for movies, Looria offers ratings and reviews for all kinds of products. We focus on keeping track of and removing the special status of sources caught getting paid to write fake reviews. Some categories are more prone to astroturfing than others, and we account for that by restricting the sources. Actively curating the sources is part of our daily work.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]