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>But the trick of Hacker News, the thing that keeps you going back, is that it covers such a wide range of interests. I'd argue that big part of the success is
by DeathArrow 3y ago
>But the trick of Hacker News, the thing that keeps you going back, is that it covers such a wide range of interests.
I'd argue that big part of the success is the way it's constructed. You always have fresh stuff on top, and you are encouraged to take part in discussing them, as opposed to regular forums where people can discuss on the same topic for years or decades.
Reddit and 4chan work the same.
People have short attention span, they always want something new and they are after instant gratification.
I enjoy both types of forums, the ones where you see mostly new content and ones where you can discuss whatever topic interests you, as long as you like and as long as you have discussion partners.
- djaychela 3y agoI'd agree with this - it really works here because I don't actually know who anyone is, or see their comments regularly (other than when someone's username points to them being someone I know elsewhere, such as Jeff Geerling). On most forums, there's an 800lb Gorilla who dominates everything, and they will set the tone of the place. I can think of two (one I used to engage with, one I have to engage with for work reasons) where there's one person who does this, and I stayed away as much as possible because of that opinion-domination which happened there. I don't see that on HN, and it's one of the reasons I like coming here, maybe twice a day.
- jumploops 3y agoI’d argue that a big part of the success is dang. Moderation is the key to community building, and HN has the best.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- jajko 3y agoYes, it often takes 1 'rotten apple' to drag down discussion into nasty stupid personal fights. Kudos to him in how well he manages that, not sure if he sleeps or takes actual vacations without internet.
- input_sh 3y agoHe's not the only mod, though he is the only mod that communicates publicly.
- kazinator 3y agoAlso, part of the success is the fast load time and navigation. Hackers want a page that refreshes close to as fast as Ctrl-R in their editor.