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Tell HN: Hacker News Does Not Support IPv6

10 points by quaintdev 3y ago

Just something I noticed after seeing people bashing GitHub and other sites for not supporting IPv6 at [1]. What could be the possible reasons for HN to not support IPv6. [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37549745

commandersaki 3y ago
> What could be the possible reasons for HN to not support IPv6. My take: IPv6 Internet is a second class network. IPv6 doesn't really hold any value unless you're somehow bridged to the actual IPv4 Internet. So why bother being on the IPv6 Internet when you're already fully accessible on the IPv4 Internet.
- sysadm1n 3y ago
  > when you're already fully accessible on the IPv4 Internet And behind several NATs which apparently is good because a single IPV4 address can belong to millions of people so you can 'blend in', as it were, if you enjoy privacy.
recrudesce 3y ago
Why bother with IPv6 support when IPv4 is more supported, and generally not in a state where we need to be using IPv6 as a default ?
- dopheide 3y ago
  For the same reason they made cars when horses were just fine. There are already resources you can't get to with IPv4. Also IPv6 is being mandated by the gov't (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/M-21-07.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/M-21-0...). You might be able to ignore it and retire before it's the 'default', but deep knowledge of IPv6 is rising in demand.
LinuxBender 3y ago
What could be the possible reasons for HN to not support IPv6. There are plenty of possibilities I could guess but only dang (Daniel) would know the official answer. If he gives you the official answer please share it here. hn@ycombinator.com
toast0 3y ago
Last time this came up, the primary answer was that the facility they're hosted in doesn't support IPv6. There's lots of reasons why it's a good idea to host services on v6 and v4, but most of them aren't terribly important for a text only forum with limited audience when the facility doesn't support it. That said, a quick look seems to indicate that v6 is an option at their facility now, so it might be more feasible now.

10 points by quaintdev 3y ago

commandersaki 3y ago

> What could be the possible reasons for HN to not support IPv6. My take: IPv6 Internet is a second class network. IPv6 doesn't really hold any value unless you're somehow bridged to the actual IPv4 Internet. So why bother being on the IPv6 Internet when you're already fully accessible on the IPv4 Internet.

sysadm1n 3y ago
> when you're already fully accessible on the IPv4 Internet And behind several NATs which apparently is good because a single IPV4 address can belong to millions of people so you can 'blend in', as it were, if you enjoy privacy.

recrudesce 3y ago

Why bother with IPv6 support when IPv4 is more supported, and generally not in a state where we need to be using IPv6 as a default ?

dopheide 3y ago
For the same reason they made cars when horses were just fine. There are already resources you can't get to with IPv4. Also IPv6 is being mandated by the gov't (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/M-21-07.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/M-21-0...). You might be able to ignore it and retire before it's the 'default', but deep knowledge of IPv6 is rising in demand.

LinuxBender 3y ago

What could be the possible reasons for HN to not support IPv6. There are plenty of possibilities I could guess but only dang (Daniel) would know the official answer. If he gives you the official answer please share it here. hn@ycombinator.com

toast0 3y ago

Last time this came up, the primary answer was that the facility they're hosted in doesn't support IPv6. There's lots of reasons why it's a good idea to host services on v6 and v4, but most of them aren't terribly important for a text only forum with limited audience when the facility doesn't support it. That said, a quick look seems to indicate that v6 is an option at their facility now, so it might be more feasible now.