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reasons why HN doesn't work as a reddit replacement: - It has no subforums - Almost everyone here is in IT, other topics only get discussed when they are inte

reasons why HN doesn't work as a reddit replacement: - It has no subforums - Almost everyone here is in IT, other topics only get discussed when they are interesting to IT people. On reddit, you can talk to historians, mathematicians, language enthusiasts, fans of your favourite series, etc. - HN usability on mobile is... yeah - HN is text only, that's already difficult for programming, but would make talking about e.g. mathematics really annoying, and for people who want to share art, that's even more obviously not going to work - also, I really wish you could block users

jeltz 3y ago
I agree with everything except the mobile usability. Hacker News has some of the best mobile usability of the websites I am using. It is not perfect but it is way better than Reddit. Hacker News is very comfortable to read on mobile and the only thing which could be improved is the too small voting buttons.
- vesinisa 3y ago
  Thanks, zoomed in to upvote
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  Reddit are intentionally sabotaging the mobile Web experience to drive people to the app. Of course, that often backfires. HN hasn't actively sabotaged mobile. But it hasn't gone out of its way to make the experience better either.
- Tainnor 3y ago
  I agree that Reddit is borderline unusable in its mobile website, and the official app is ad-ridden, but 3rd party apps (the ones they're trying to kill) are fine. I find HN a royal pain on mobile tbh. Everything clickable is so small.
  - Double_a_92 3y ago
    To be fair almost all websites are a pain on mobile. My smartphone is becoming more and more a messaging app and alarm clock ._.
miroljub 3y ago
I agree with you, and that's why I listed some missing things that would help it to be a Reddit replacement. Regarding mobile clients, there are at least a few third party mobile clients on both Android and iPhone that work quite well.
- Tainnor 3y ago
  that's a good point, maybe I should try some of the mobile clients
Panzer04 3y ago
What’s the problem with HN mobile?
- pjc50 3y ago
  Teeny-tiny arrows.
- randac 3y ago
  Thread with many replies, the deepest replies end up very squashed right in portrait, it's annoying to read. As is the flag/dead style but that's another matter. Obviously nothing I can't work around.

jeltz 3y ago

I agree with everything except the mobile usability. Hacker News has some of the best mobile usability of the websites I am using. It is not perfect but it is way better than Reddit. Hacker News is very comfortable to read on mobile and the only thing which could be improved is the too small voting buttons.

vesinisa 3y ago
Thanks, zoomed in to upvote
dredmorbius 3y ago
Reddit are intentionally sabotaging the mobile Web experience to drive people to the app. Of course, that often backfires. HN hasn't actively sabotaged mobile. But it hasn't gone out of its way to make the experience better either.
Tainnor 3y ago
I agree that Reddit is borderline unusable in its mobile website, and the official app is ad-ridden, but 3rd party apps (the ones they're trying to kill) are fine. I find HN a royal pain on mobile tbh. Everything clickable is so small.
- Double_a_92 3y ago
  To be fair almost all websites are a pain on mobile. My smartphone is becoming more and more a messaging app and alarm clock ._.

miroljub 3y ago

I agree with you, and that's why I listed some missing things that would help it to be a Reddit replacement. Regarding mobile clients, there are at least a few third party mobile clients on both Android and iPhone that work quite well.

Tainnor 3y ago
that's a good point, maybe I should try some of the mobile clients

Panzer04 3y ago

What’s the problem with HN mobile?

pjc50 3y ago
Teeny-tiny arrows.
randac 3y ago
Thread with many replies, the deepest replies end up very squashed right in portrait, it's annoying to read. As is the flag/dead style but that's another matter. Obviously nothing I can't work around.