5 ms·

Can I ask a simple question: Why? I live in Europe, but AFAIK none of the places where I've lived/am regular even have an HN meetup. I have no idea we would wa

by Jd 15y ago

Can I ask a simple question: Why? I live in Europe, but AFAIK none of the places where I've lived/am regular even have an HN meetup. I have no idea we would want a splintered HN.

mike-cardwell 15y ago
Maybe it will do things in new ways that are better than HN. Maybe it will eventually become more International like HN is? Choice and variety are a good thing. You've got to differentiate yourself somehow when you're starting out.
skeptical 15y ago
Many europeans feel like outsiders at HN. Indeed HN content is localized to some extent. Perhaps that's the reason why there's no HN meetups near by your location?
kiloaper 15y ago
The number one reason for me would be because lots of the things covered on HN tend to be US focused to the point that people forget anywhere else exists. I'm tired of articles praising some service provider or payment processor only to find they are US-only and may support the EU in 'the future'. I'm tired of rants about carrier practices that only affect the US as if it is universal. I'd like to see a site where there is an actual consciousness that not everyone is living in the United States of America.
- angersock 15y ago
  I'd like to see a site where there is an actual consciousness that not everyone is living in the United States of America. Well, if our lobbyists do their jobs properly, mere accidents of geography will not keep you out of the fold. :) Moreover, sorry dude, the tech war is over and we won. We've got better funding, better language, better regulations, and better spirit--and sadly, not a lot else. EDIT: (and yes, not seeing stories about services that can be used outside of the US is unfortunate--agreed. Submit more and upvote!)
  - pestaa 15y ago
    > the tech war is over and we won Excuse me? I've just evaluated all possible virtual hosting services, and by far the best is in Germany. I know dozens of people who hate the US passionately because of high-horse comments like yours.
    - angersock 15y ago
      I would be curious to know which service that is, and what boxen they run, and what company made those boxen. In hindsight I realize that probably just opened the door to a pissing match over whose contributions to software/computing/startup culture is greater, but I think that would be an interesting conversation to have here. EDIT: To get the ball rolling, we've got Matsumoto : Ruby : Japan Ericsson: Erlang : Sweden Torvalds : Linux : Finland
      - pedrolll 15y ago
        I don't think this will turn into a pissing contest. Hacker News comments are usually pretty insightful. Arguing over whether Europe as a continent or the U.S. as a country is better in some respects is just useless.
        reinhardt 15y ago
        Especially useless when the "argument" boils down to a single famous individual (or even a handful) that happens to hail from a given country or continent.
      - pestaa 15y ago
        You probably understand why it would be immature to compare continents. It's anyway getting harder to really get to the bottom of it as lots of engineer and scientists were taken to the US in the last century to work on those boxes. But ultimately there are no sides to take, and that is why "US already won the tech war" comments piss people off, and rightfully so.
        15y ago
brackin 15y ago
I've been to HackerNews meetups around the world and the London meetup is one of the biggest and best in my opinion. With more than 400 attendees a month, they sell out usually too.
LaGrange 15y ago
One reason that is good enough for me: HN is a bit of an echo chamber. It's maintained by a specific VC with specific opinions, which already was a source of some controversy. While I don't see a problem with the existence of opinionated media, I do think it's healthy if we have alternatives. And being "european" is specifically beneficial, because it brings with itself a somewhat different perspective. I'd probably use both (unless the other one dies, of course — just because it's useful doesn't mean it will work).
- rayhano 15y ago
  Hackful will never replace Hacker News - it is for local entrepreneurs to have far more relevant discussion. Why would a European service need peer review from a predominantly US audience?
  - reinhardt 15y ago
    Uhm, because ambitious European services don't restrict themselves to the (often smaller and more conservative) local audience?
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
Udo 15y ago
As an EU hacker myself, I'm not exactly crazy about this regional split - it feels unnecessary and artificial somehow. On the other hand, if we're going to have an alternative HN site, it will probably have to differentiate itself in some way.
- rayhano 15y ago
  First sharing with each other Then a very relevant calendar And finally a local Angel List Would those be useful, or superfluous?
  - ojilles 15y ago
    If the first point just happens on HN, that wouldn't preclude the second and third point, right? So -- possibly superfluous, yes. (EU person myself)
    - rayhano 15y ago
      The key is accessibility - what relevant communication do you get out of Hacker News? If HN DOES fulfil your needs, then great. If, like many of us, local matters then Hackful is extremely exciting IF we can get the community owning/using it.
- danmaz74 15y ago
  For the hacking side, I don't see any reason for a split either. But for the business side, it would be very good to also have a EU community to help create a better environment here. Let's not forget that we (from the EU) can move wherever we wish in the EU to set up shop (or work), so it would be helpful to know about the opportunities, the problems etc.
  - amac 15y ago
    This is important - doing business wherever you are in the world will always be subject to local customs in my view. This is despite increasing globalization; there will always be different languages, currencies, market structures, legislation etc. One of the reasons we intend Lion to be more focused on the UK and the general business community.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
stfu 15y ago
Same here. In order to make a geo based community there better be good reasons for that. All the abandoned Social Networks in Europe that had a localized positioning are still witnesses of this development.
arguesalot 15y ago
Indeed, it solves the wrong problem. We are not lacking in tech news access over here, we are lacking in knowing who is around, what is around, who is hiring, who is firing, who funds, who succeeds, who fails, who is searching for cofounders etc.
- rayhano 15y ago
  Bingo! Hackful is one day old and only the first step - next step is a calendar and third a local Angel List. Who is hiring is a difficult one as there are MANY others trying to solve that problem - better to leave it to them rather than a community effort stepping on their toes...

by Jd 15y ago

Can I ask a simple question: Why? I live in Europe, but AFAIK none of the places where I've lived/am regular even have an HN meetup. I have no idea we would want a splintered HN.

mike-cardwell 15y ago

Maybe it will do things in new ways that are better than HN. Maybe it will eventually become more International like HN is? Choice and variety are a good thing. You've got to differentiate yourself somehow when you're starting out.

skeptical 15y ago

Many europeans feel like outsiders at HN. Indeed HN content is localized to some extent. Perhaps that's the reason why there's no HN meetups near by your location?

kiloaper 15y ago

The number one reason for me would be because lots of the things covered on HN tend to be US focused to the point that people forget anywhere else exists. I'm tired of articles praising some service provider or payment processor only to find they are US-only and may support the EU in 'the future'. I'm tired of rants about carrier practices that only affect the US as if it is universal. I'd like to see a site where there is an actual consciousness that not everyone is living in the United States of America.

angersock 15y ago
I'd like to see a site where there is an actual consciousness that not everyone is living in the United States of America. Well, if our lobbyists do their jobs properly, mere accidents of geography will not keep you out of the fold. :) Moreover, sorry dude, the tech war is over and we won. We've got better funding, better language, better regulations, and better spirit--and sadly, not a lot else. EDIT: (and yes, not seeing stories about services that can be used outside of the US is unfortunate--agreed. Submit more and upvote!)
- pestaa 15y ago
  > the tech war is over and we won Excuse me? I've just evaluated all possible virtual hosting services, and by far the best is in Germany. I know dozens of people who hate the US passionately because of high-horse comments like yours.
  - angersock 15y ago
    I would be curious to know which service that is, and what boxen they run, and what company made those boxen. In hindsight I realize that probably just opened the door to a pissing match over whose contributions to software/computing/startup culture is greater, but I think that would be an interesting conversation to have here. EDIT: To get the ball rolling, we've got Matsumoto : Ruby : Japan Ericsson: Erlang : Sweden Torvalds : Linux : Finland
    - pedrolll 15y ago
      I don't think this will turn into a pissing contest. Hacker News comments are usually pretty insightful. Arguing over whether Europe as a continent or the U.S. as a country is better in some respects is just useless.
      - reinhardt 15y ago
        Especially useless when the "argument" boils down to a single famous individual (or even a handful) that happens to hail from a given country or continent.
    - pestaa 15y ago
      You probably understand why it would be immature to compare continents. It's anyway getting harder to really get to the bottom of it as lots of engineer and scientists were taken to the US in the last century to work on those boxes. But ultimately there are no sides to take, and that is why "US already won the tech war" comments piss people off, and rightfully so.
      - 15y ago

brackin 15y ago

I've been to HackerNews meetups around the world and the London meetup is one of the biggest and best in my opinion. With more than 400 attendees a month, they sell out usually too.

LaGrange 15y ago

One reason that is good enough for me: HN is a bit of an echo chamber. It's maintained by a specific VC with specific opinions, which already was a source of some controversy. While I don't see a problem with the existence of opinionated media, I do think it's healthy if we have alternatives. And being "european" is specifically beneficial, because it brings with itself a somewhat different perspective. I'd probably use both (unless the other one dies, of course — just because it's useful doesn't mean it will work).

rayhano 15y ago
Hackful will never replace Hacker News - it is for local entrepreneurs to have far more relevant discussion. Why would a European service need peer review from a predominantly US audience?
- reinhardt 15y ago
  Uhm, because ambitious European services don't restrict themselves to the (often smaller and more conservative) local audience?

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

Udo 15y ago

As an EU hacker myself, I'm not exactly crazy about this regional split - it feels unnecessary and artificial somehow. On the other hand, if we're going to have an alternative HN site, it will probably have to differentiate itself in some way.

rayhano 15y ago
First sharing with each other Then a very relevant calendar And finally a local Angel List Would those be useful, or superfluous?
- ojilles 15y ago
  If the first point just happens on HN, that wouldn't preclude the second and third point, right? So -- possibly superfluous, yes. (EU person myself)
  - rayhano 15y ago
    The key is accessibility - what relevant communication do you get out of Hacker News? If HN DOES fulfil your needs, then great. If, like many of us, local matters then Hackful is extremely exciting IF we can get the community owning/using it.
danmaz74 15y ago
For the hacking side, I don't see any reason for a split either. But for the business side, it would be very good to also have a EU community to help create a better environment here. Let's not forget that we (from the EU) can move wherever we wish in the EU to set up shop (or work), so it would be helpful to know about the opportunities, the problems etc.
- amac 15y ago
  This is important - doing business wherever you are in the world will always be subject to local customs in my view. This is despite increasing globalization; there will always be different languages, currencies, market structures, legislation etc. One of the reasons we intend Lion to be more focused on the UK and the general business community.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

stfu 15y ago

Same here. In order to make a geo based community there better be good reasons for that. All the abandoned Social Networks in Europe that had a localized positioning are still witnesses of this development.

arguesalot 15y ago

Indeed, it solves the wrong problem. We are not lacking in tech news access over here, we are lacking in knowing who is around, what is around, who is hiring, who is firing, who funds, who succeeds, who fails, who is searching for cofounders etc.

rayhano 15y ago
Bingo! Hackful is one day old and only the first step - next step is a calendar and third a local Angel List. Who is hiring is a difficult one as there are MANY others trying to solve that problem - better to leave it to them rather than a community effort stepping on their toes...