5 ms·

I think many of the things you identify as flaws are actually strengths of this site. The minimalist text-only gui IS very usable for discussion, and forces th

by dzdt 3y ago

I think many of the things you identify as flaws are actually strengths of this site. The minimalist text-only gui IS very usable for discussion, and forces that the focus is on the discussion. I think for instance adding images to posts or comments would make the site worse, as images serve to attract and focus attention away from discussion. But the discussion here is the point! The minimal profile sections are also a feature. This account is not your digital homepage. It is a place people go for discussion. A bigger focus on your profile would be a step towards use of the site as brand-building which favors attention-whoring over quality discussion. Again, the focus is on reducing frictions to people to contribute to quality discussion, and avoiding dynamics that might supplant this.

mewpmewp2 3y ago
Some features would still be nice, like to know when someone has responded to you.
- mr_mitm 3y ago
  Or just moving the collapse button next to the vote buttons, so collapsing multiple comment branches becomes easier. Would not change anything the GP mentioned and would probably be super easy to implement.
  - TeMPOraL 3y ago
    Easy enough to do it yourself via userstyle (for Stylus) or userscript (for TamperMonkey)? :). I'm currently using both - userstyle for DIY dark mode, userscript on mobile for font size adjustment (no Stylus available on Firefox for Android yet). Plus uBlock Origin configured to nuke the karma counter.
    - dredmorbius 3y ago
      True. And though I don't have a relocated collapse control, there are modified light/dark mode HN styles linked in my HN profile, for those interested in either using those directly or as a starting point for your own restyle.
    - mr_mitm 3y ago
      I could and probably will, but solving this on the server-side would be a huge time-saver for millions of users. Is there a RES-style browser addon for HN with some of these little quality of life improvements?
      - TeMPOraL 3y ago
        Then again, it's hacker news. If the audience of this site won't individually hack the UX to match their preferences, who will?
        mr_mitm 3y ago
        With that logic, why not just provide an API. Everybody just hack together their own client. Being a hacker doesn't mean you never get to benefit from prior work, or never work together on something, or never share your work. I get the appeal of providing a minimal service like HN, but unless I'm missing something, my proposed change is an absolute no-brainer considering it's effort-reward ratio.
        dredmorbius 3y ago
        <https://github.com/HackerNews/API https://github.com/HackerNews/API> Linked under "API" at the bottom of the page you're reading now.
        mr_mitm 3y ago
        Emphasis was on "just", as in: no web client.
        dredmorbius 3y ago
        That seems an unreasonable expectation. There are and were message- and discussion-oriented protocols, most notably Usenet, of which you may be aware there were some persistent issues: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36194941 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36194941> <https://web.archive.org/web/20220321105208/https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/3c3xyu/why_usenet_died/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220321105208/https://old.reddi...> The thought's occurred to me that among the conspicuous omissions from the HTML spec is of a threaded discussion (or more specifically, messages within a threaded context) as a first-order object, permitting arbitrary structuring of that content at the volition of the reader.
- codingdave 3y ago
  Most of the poor discussions I see on here are when one user tries to steamroll a thread, replying to most every single comment, doubling down on their own points of the discussion. It turns into a personal argument, not a discussion by the community. So I think a lack of notifications is a great feature. It lets us say our piece and move on, and let the community discussion fall where it will.
  - seanw444 3y ago
    Totally agree with this. I thought it was weird when I first joined, but over the years, I've grown to appreciate the lack of it. Keeping track of your points is a decent indicator that activity has happened though. I just remember roughly where it was when I left, and then I know whether I should check /threads or not.
- hutzlibu 3y ago
  You can actually implement that yourself, or use what someone else did: http://www.hnreplies.com/ http://www.hnreplies.com/
- danjc 3y ago
  I think the intent is to discourage back and forth chatter which is a significant way that a flame war develops. There are third party services though http://www.hnreplies.com/ http://www.hnreplies.com/
- monkeywork 3y ago
  No No … hell no This is one of the features of HN that I appreciate most. The lack of notification means that you don't (typically) get a ton of back and forth sniping arguments like you do on sites like reddit. I find this makes people put more effort into their first comment and keeps the arguments lower.

by dzdt 3y ago

mewpmewp2 3y ago

Some features would still be nice, like to know when someone has responded to you.

mr_mitm 3y ago
Or just moving the collapse button next to the vote buttons, so collapsing multiple comment branches becomes easier. Would not change anything the GP mentioned and would probably be super easy to implement.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  Easy enough to do it yourself via userstyle (for Stylus) or userscript (for TamperMonkey)? :). I'm currently using both - userstyle for DIY dark mode, userscript on mobile for font size adjustment (no Stylus available on Firefox for Android yet). Plus uBlock Origin configured to nuke the karma counter.
  - dredmorbius 3y ago
    True. And though I don't have a relocated collapse control, there are modified light/dark mode HN styles linked in my HN profile, for those interested in either using those directly or as a starting point for your own restyle.
  - mr_mitm 3y ago
    I could and probably will, but solving this on the server-side would be a huge time-saver for millions of users. Is there a RES-style browser addon for HN with some of these little quality of life improvements?
    - TeMPOraL 3y ago
      Then again, it's hacker news. If the audience of this site won't individually hack the UX to match their preferences, who will?
      - mr_mitm 3y ago
        With that logic, why not just provide an API. Everybody just hack together their own client. Being a hacker doesn't mean you never get to benefit from prior work, or never work together on something, or never share your work. I get the appeal of providing a minimal service like HN, but unless I'm missing something, my proposed change is an absolute no-brainer considering it's effort-reward ratio.
        dredmorbius 3y ago
        <https://github.com/HackerNews/API https://github.com/HackerNews/API> Linked under "API" at the bottom of the page you're reading now.
        mr_mitm 3y ago
        Emphasis was on "just", as in: no web client.
        dredmorbius 3y ago
        That seems an unreasonable expectation. There are and were message- and discussion-oriented protocols, most notably Usenet, of which you may be aware there were some persistent issues: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36194941 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36194941> <https://web.archive.org/web/20220321105208/https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/3c3xyu/why_usenet_died/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220321105208/https://old.reddi...> The thought's occurred to me that among the conspicuous omissions from the HTML spec is of a threaded discussion (or more specifically, messages within a threaded context) as a first-order object, permitting arbitrary structuring of that content at the volition of the reader.
codingdave 3y ago
Most of the poor discussions I see on here are when one user tries to steamroll a thread, replying to most every single comment, doubling down on their own points of the discussion. It turns into a personal argument, not a discussion by the community. So I think a lack of notifications is a great feature. It lets us say our piece and move on, and let the community discussion fall where it will.
- seanw444 3y ago
  Totally agree with this. I thought it was weird when I first joined, but over the years, I've grown to appreciate the lack of it. Keeping track of your points is a decent indicator that activity has happened though. I just remember roughly where it was when I left, and then I know whether I should check /threads or not.
hutzlibu 3y ago
You can actually implement that yourself, or use what someone else did: http://www.hnreplies.com/ http://www.hnreplies.com/
danjc 3y ago
I think the intent is to discourage back and forth chatter which is a significant way that a flame war develops. There are third party services though http://www.hnreplies.com/ http://www.hnreplies.com/
monkeywork 3y ago
No No … hell no This is one of the features of HN that I appreciate most. The lack of notification means that you don't (typically) get a ton of back and forth sniping arguments like you do on sites like reddit. I find this makes people put more effort into their first comment and keeps the arguments lower.