6 ms·

I really wish vague no context titles like this wouldn't be allowed. I don't know who votes for two words with no other information, but it seems silly.

deleted 3y ago
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pvg 3y ago
People click and read the thing and upvote it if they like it. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20work%20a%20little&sort=byPopularity&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
- CyberDildonics 3y ago
  Why have titles at all if they aren't supposed to have any information in them?
  - pvg 3y ago
    Obviously, they have information in them, perhaps not information that's to your taste. "Why are titles that are not to my taste allowed" is at least a question that's relatively simple to figure out.
  - sixstringtheory 3y ago
    First you complain that the title doesn’t have enough information–more information please! Then you imply there should be no titles at all–less information please! Do you see the impossible double standard?
    - pvg 3y ago
      They're saying 'what's the point of titles if they don't tell me what's inside the tin.' There's no double standard there at all. It's an impossible one (unless promoted to Mystic Master of All Titles in The Universe or At Least on HN) but there's nothing double about it.
dbcurtis 3y ago
It does have context -- it's on Steve Blank's blog. Now, if you have never heard of Blank, I suppose it is context-free in that sense. But I was expecting an essay riffing on the idea of "profound beliefs", and I got exactly that. I have the same problem with other titles -- the world of Javascript front-end frameworks seems to very commonly have a name collision with some word or phrase from a context that I care about, and then I click through and find web front-end stuff, which I care about much, much less than what the cafe is serving for lunch. It's just part of the overhead of surfing HN. You'll be fine.
layer8 3y ago
The problem, if anything, is that people vote on headlines (or on authors) instead of on article content.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  Yes, that is why the guidelines are encourage keeping the title where possible but are also OK with neutralizing clickbait titles.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

pvg 3y ago

People click and read the thing and upvote it if they like it. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20work%20a%20little&sort=byPopularity&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

CyberDildonics 3y ago
Why have titles at all if they aren't supposed to have any information in them?
- pvg 3y ago
  Obviously, they have information in them, perhaps not information that's to your taste. "Why are titles that are not to my taste allowed" is at least a question that's relatively simple to figure out.
- sixstringtheory 3y ago
  First you complain that the title doesn’t have enough information–more information please! Then you imply there should be no titles at all–less information please! Do you see the impossible double standard?
  - pvg 3y ago
    They're saying 'what's the point of titles if they don't tell me what's inside the tin.' There's no double standard there at all. It's an impossible one (unless promoted to Mystic Master of All Titles in The Universe or At Least on HN) but there's nothing double about it.

dbcurtis 3y ago

It does have context -- it's on Steve Blank's blog. Now, if you have never heard of Blank, I suppose it is context-free in that sense. But I was expecting an essay riffing on the idea of "profound beliefs", and I got exactly that. I have the same problem with other titles -- the world of Javascript front-end frameworks seems to very commonly have a name collision with some word or phrase from a context that I care about, and then I click through and find web front-end stuff, which I care about much, much less than what the cafe is serving for lunch. It's just part of the overhead of surfing HN. You'll be fine.

layer8 3y ago

The problem, if anything, is that people vote on headlines (or on authors) instead of on article content.

SoftTalker 3y ago
Yes, that is why the guidelines are encourage keeping the title where possible but are also OK with neutralizing clickbait titles.