3 ms·

The penalties are interesting. It shows that the design goal is not to maximise interactions otherwise "controversial" posts should stay up. Still though, I won

by Liftyee 14d ago

The penalties are interesting. It shows that the design goal is not to maximise interactions otherwise "controversial" posts should stay up. Still though, I wonder what's the point of deranking said posts. Minimise the potential for a flame war to hit critical mass? Stop people from perceiving HN as an argument-filled forum?

firesteelrain 14d ago
Controlled narratives
- SilentM68 14d ago
  Yup, with just enough of an unmistakable ideological slant to force posts with differing views to take a Kharma nose dive. It seems that the addition of Kharma is proportional to posts that align with the overall narrative of the board post sentiment. In my case, I've noticed that some of my posts don't appear as originally created. Can't really confirm if this is inherent to the algorithm or just internal interference. The latter would be my guess. :(
  - SilentM68 14d ago
    Point proven for the world to see :)
- skew-aberration 14d ago
  Yep. Particularly obvious with comment ranking too.
  - scamaltman2 14d ago
    Don't forget showdead.
Barbing 14d ago
Officially, should be protecting the site by keeping things interesting. (Just saying officially.) Thanks to dang, links: curiosity and repetition: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=curiosity%20repetition%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so... downweighting follow-ups: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=follow-up%20downweight&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
Karrot_Kream 14d ago
HN is already perceived as an argumentative forum. Now imagine if the ratio rule wasn't there. FWIW I find it just as effective on Bluesky and Twitter for myself. Ratioed threads are usually more heat than light.
- Forgeties79 14d ago
  Interesting I didn’t perceive it that way (I see the irony lol) I’ve always seen it as a place that is quick to tell people to back off/treat each other with respect
  - left-struck 14d ago
    Yes I second this, HN is one of the least argumentative places I’ve encountered on the internet. Now people disagree with each other a lot, but it’s usually quite respectful compared to most of the internet.
- swat535 14d ago
  Actually HN is a great place if you have different opinions than the majority. As long as you make a good argument that's not flippant or rude, people will engage with it. I hold very controversial points of views and never really experienced personal attacks (perhaps sometimes downvotes but that's not a deal breaker for me) when I express them here. More to it, I tend to upvote comments I disagree with it.
consumer451 14d ago
> It shows that the design goal is not to maximise interactions otherwise "controversial" posts should stay up. What I believe to be a less human-moderated version of the front page still exists on HN. It is interesting to compare it to the default. Both have their benefits. https://news.ycombinator.com/active https://news.ycombinator.com/active
stackghost 14d ago
> the design goal is not to maximise interactions The design (not sure about its goal) maximizes incentive for medium-complexity ideas being expressed in comments with at most a handful of replies. The “comments on a submission with ranking based on votes” model is fundamentally unsuited for in-depth, thoughtful discussions. Everything we write in this comment section will be mostly forgotten by tomorrow because there is no notification system for when someone replies to your comments. Zero people are going back through old submissions more than a day or two old and looking for insightful comments to reply to.
- aworks 14d ago
  For those of us scanning Hacker News by RSS, this additional feed is helpful https://hnrss.github.io/#reply-feeds https://hnrss.github.io/#reply-feeds
doginasuit 14d ago
> It shows that the design goal is not to maximise interactions otherwise "controversial" posts should stay up. It seems like there is a direct explanation, HN doesn't show ads.
- deleted 14d ago
  [deleted]

by Liftyee 14d ago

firesteelrain 14d ago

Controlled narratives

SilentM68 14d ago
Yup, with just enough of an unmistakable ideological slant to force posts with differing views to take a Kharma nose dive. It seems that the addition of Kharma is proportional to posts that align with the overall narrative of the board post sentiment. In my case, I've noticed that some of my posts don't appear as originally created. Can't really confirm if this is inherent to the algorithm or just internal interference. The latter would be my guess. :(
- SilentM68 14d ago
  Point proven for the world to see :)
skew-aberration 14d ago
Yep. Particularly obvious with comment ranking too.
- scamaltman2 14d ago
  Don't forget showdead.

Barbing 14d ago

Officially, should be protecting the site by keeping things interesting. (Just saying officially.) Thanks to dang, links: curiosity and repetition: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=curiosity%20repetition%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so... downweighting follow-ups: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=follow-up%20downweight&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

Karrot_Kream 14d ago

HN is already perceived as an argumentative forum. Now imagine if the ratio rule wasn't there. FWIW I find it just as effective on Bluesky and Twitter for myself. Ratioed threads are usually more heat than light.

Forgeties79 14d ago
Interesting I didn’t perceive it that way (I see the irony lol) I’ve always seen it as a place that is quick to tell people to back off/treat each other with respect
- left-struck 14d ago
  Yes I second this, HN is one of the least argumentative places I’ve encountered on the internet. Now people disagree with each other a lot, but it’s usually quite respectful compared to most of the internet.
swat535 14d ago
Actually HN is a great place if you have different opinions than the majority. As long as you make a good argument that's not flippant or rude, people will engage with it. I hold very controversial points of views and never really experienced personal attacks (perhaps sometimes downvotes but that's not a deal breaker for me) when I express them here. More to it, I tend to upvote comments I disagree with it.

consumer451 14d ago

> It shows that the design goal is not to maximise interactions otherwise "controversial" posts should stay up. What I believe to be a less human-moderated version of the front page still exists on HN. It is interesting to compare it to the default. Both have their benefits. https://news.ycombinator.com/active https://news.ycombinator.com/active

stackghost 14d ago

> the design goal is not to maximise interactions The design (not sure about its goal) maximizes incentive for medium-complexity ideas being expressed in comments with at most a handful of replies. The “comments on a submission with ranking based on votes” model is fundamentally unsuited for in-depth, thoughtful discussions. Everything we write in this comment section will be mostly forgotten by tomorrow because there is no notification system for when someone replies to your comments. Zero people are going back through old submissions more than a day or two old and looking for insightful comments to reply to.

aworks 14d ago
For those of us scanning Hacker News by RSS, this additional feed is helpful https://hnrss.github.io/#reply-feeds https://hnrss.github.io/#reply-feeds

doginasuit 14d ago

> It shows that the design goal is not to maximise interactions otherwise "controversial" posts should stay up. It seems like there is a direct explanation, HN doesn't show ads.

deleted 14d ago
[deleted]