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IMO one of the things that makes HN so special is the "culture" here. Having been on here since 2018, most folks here are acutely aware of the issues that other

IMO one of the things that makes HN so special is the "culture" here. Having been on here since 2018, most folks here are acutely aware of the issues that other sites like Reddit have and we all collectively work to preserve this space so it doesn't become like the other places. If I see a meme on Reddit I would probably upvote it, but if I see that exact same meme on here I would downvote and probably report it too. That decision comes from a place of wanting to preserve this space and I'm sure many other folks on here would very much agree.

causal 1y ago
I wonder how much of the difference is just because HN doesn't allow you to post / display images inline like Reddit does, forcing users to engage with the content (written or video) rather than just reflexively upvote low-effort content.
- matheusmoreira 1y ago
  It's because of the people who come here. You might post about a project and discover that the person who made the thing is replying to you.
  - causal 1y ago
    I think that is the bigger difference, I agree, but I think the format and media involved still have an effect on the type of discussion that takes place
- pwdisswordfishz 1y ago
  > display images inline like Reddit does That's a relatively new development. The cultural aspects that you're describing were already in place (entrenched) well before Reddit integrated that feature.
mettamage 1y ago
Interesting, for me Hacker News is just about being reasonable. Consequently, I find all other online places so far unreasonable. I am on Reddit, but honestly, it’s more of an anthropology thing rather than anything else. Sometimes I see if I can vibe with the subreddits, and I can. The problem is usually I feel awful because a good faith discussion generally can’t be held. To me, vibing in many subreddits just means promoting values that I don’t actually stand behind.
- tracker1 1y ago
  Can definitely understand that... Most of my Reddit use is limited to a few more technical subreddits that are focused on older tech. I can't stomach going anywhere near the political subs, for example.
- fragmede 1y ago
  What's been a learning experience for me is seeing Reddit, HN, Facebook, discords, private slacks, and the mainstream media discuss some thing I went through, and the different faces they all have about it. Reddit was just a barrel of negativity about it. So was half of TikTok. Facebook however was mostly full of positivity and happiness, but obviously my Facebook feed is curated to be my Facebook friends. Maybe it's something about the "anyone can join" aspect that both enhances but also destroys the community?
  - mettamage 1y ago
    > Reddit was just a barrel of negativity about it. Oh, I can relate to that one.
- lenkite 1y ago
  In reditt, the exact same comment can give you 1K upvotes along with lots of gratz/you-are-the-man/misc-admiration replies or 1K downvotes/you-suck/you-are-a-retard/misc-hate replies along with a moderator/shadow ban, depending on which sub-reditt you are in.
stronglikedan 1y ago
You just made me look at how long I've been coming here. I'm still internally struggling with whether that is something I needed to know!
- tracker1 1y ago
  Didn't realize it'd been 13 years for me, and I felt like I came into this space relatively late. lol.
pembrook 1y ago
I would say that was true until recently (have basically been lurking for a decade), but this year in particular it feels like HN has gone full Reddit. More and more topics somehow devolve into emotional political fights instead of intellectual debates.
- pjc50 1y ago
  The insanity of US politics has more and more real impacts and is impossible to ignore, sadly. It's the forest fires of the tech scene.
- 1718627440 1y ago
  I had some political fights here recently, but I also had some insights and genuine discussion even from viewpoints I find entirely unreasonable, which I think I wouldn't even have in real life.
simonebrunozzi 1y ago
Just checked my homepage, and realized that I created an account in May 2008! 17 years of Hacker News. Practically a lifetime. Time flies.
- fragmede 1y ago
  If you really wanna trip, use the HN API and find some of your earliest comments and go read them
  - 1718627440 1y ago
    Is there a hidden parameter to stop the paging for your comments?
lopatin 1y ago
Yeah, memeing on HN makes about as little sense as trying to have a frank conversation or indulging in a contrarian view on a hive mind subreddit. Not that it can’t be done, but requires so many defensive qualifiers that it takes all the fun out.
tempestn 1y ago
Agreed, though the culture doesn't persist by accident. Without ongoing moderation (which has been excellent), I believe it would eventually be lost.
ivape 1y ago
The most difficult thing to protect against is the down-voting of posts you disagree with on HN. That’s the culture of Reddit, but it’s here on HN more and more.

causal 1y ago

I wonder how much of the difference is just because HN doesn't allow you to post / display images inline like Reddit does, forcing users to engage with the content (written or video) rather than just reflexively upvote low-effort content.

matheusmoreira 1y ago
It's because of the people who come here. You might post about a project and discover that the person who made the thing is replying to you.
- causal 1y ago
  I think that is the bigger difference, I agree, but I think the format and media involved still have an effect on the type of discussion that takes place
pwdisswordfishz 1y ago
> display images inline like Reddit does That's a relatively new development. The cultural aspects that you're describing were already in place (entrenched) well before Reddit integrated that feature.

mettamage 1y ago

Interesting, for me Hacker News is just about being reasonable. Consequently, I find all other online places so far unreasonable. I am on Reddit, but honestly, it’s more of an anthropology thing rather than anything else. Sometimes I see if I can vibe with the subreddits, and I can. The problem is usually I feel awful because a good faith discussion generally can’t be held. To me, vibing in many subreddits just means promoting values that I don’t actually stand behind.

tracker1 1y ago
Can definitely understand that... Most of my Reddit use is limited to a few more technical subreddits that are focused on older tech. I can't stomach going anywhere near the political subs, for example.
fragmede 1y ago
What's been a learning experience for me is seeing Reddit, HN, Facebook, discords, private slacks, and the mainstream media discuss some thing I went through, and the different faces they all have about it. Reddit was just a barrel of negativity about it. So was half of TikTok. Facebook however was mostly full of positivity and happiness, but obviously my Facebook feed is curated to be my Facebook friends. Maybe it's something about the "anyone can join" aspect that both enhances but also destroys the community?
- mettamage 1y ago
  > Reddit was just a barrel of negativity about it. Oh, I can relate to that one.
lenkite 1y ago
In reditt, the exact same comment can give you 1K upvotes along with lots of gratz/you-are-the-man/misc-admiration replies or 1K downvotes/you-suck/you-are-a-retard/misc-hate replies along with a moderator/shadow ban, depending on which sub-reditt you are in.

stronglikedan 1y ago

You just made me look at how long I've been coming here. I'm still internally struggling with whether that is something I needed to know!

tracker1 1y ago
Didn't realize it'd been 13 years for me, and I felt like I came into this space relatively late. lol.

pembrook 1y ago

I would say that was true until recently (have basically been lurking for a decade), but this year in particular it feels like HN has gone full Reddit. More and more topics somehow devolve into emotional political fights instead of intellectual debates.

pjc50 1y ago
The insanity of US politics has more and more real impacts and is impossible to ignore, sadly. It's the forest fires of the tech scene.
1718627440 1y ago
I had some political fights here recently, but I also had some insights and genuine discussion even from viewpoints I find entirely unreasonable, which I think I wouldn't even have in real life.

simonebrunozzi 1y ago

Just checked my homepage, and realized that I created an account in May 2008! 17 years of Hacker News. Practically a lifetime. Time flies.

fragmede 1y ago
If you really wanna trip, use the HN API and find some of your earliest comments and go read them
- 1718627440 1y ago
  Is there a hidden parameter to stop the paging for your comments?

lopatin 1y ago

Yeah, memeing on HN makes about as little sense as trying to have a frank conversation or indulging in a contrarian view on a hive mind subreddit. Not that it can’t be done, but requires so many defensive qualifiers that it takes all the fun out.

tempestn 1y ago

Agreed, though the culture doesn't persist by accident. Without ongoing moderation (which has been excellent), I believe it would eventually be lost.

ivape 1y ago

The most difficult thing to protect against is the down-voting of posts you disagree with on HN. That’s the culture of Reddit, but it’s here on HN more and more.