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> the people who, in the end, decide what HN is I don’t agree with this position. There is a place for administrators to shape the place they want to build for
by gretch 3y ago
> the people who, in the end, decide what HN is
I don’t agree with this position. There is a place for administrators to shape the place they want to build for the world and have it be differentiated from other places.
As a thought experiment: HN could turn into a TikTok clone and it would be wildly popular. It will be decided by the users, but the user base will be 100% different. And the world would have lost a unique place for yet another clone.
So I appreciate it when the site owners are opinionated and proactive about maintaining this space.
- jjav 3y ago> HN could turn into a TikTok clone and it would be wildly popular. As a strictly text-only medium that would be difficult. That's why I vastly prefer text-only media. Email lists (without attachments), Usenet, or even forums that only do text. The written word requires more effort than just posting pics so quality is almost inevitably better.
- another-dave 3y agoBut there's a healthy tension between "moderator and moderated" — people come to a place because it's being shaped in a certain way, but bring their own expectations. And in tandem, the guidelines grow with the community to reinforce behaviour that's seen to be fruitful and disincentivise behaviour that's derailing.