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In my opinion, that's because Hacker News --- besides self-inflating egos as noted by @petercooper --- has the right tools and already mature community which ar
by jvzr 14y ago
In my opinion, that's because Hacker News --- besides self-inflating egos as noted by @petercooper --- has the right tools and already mature community which are more suited to host civilized and fruitful conversations than on a blog.
My aversion for blog comments stems from how little we can trust content there: can I use "pg" as a username on your blog and impersonate Paul Graham? Where do the avatars come from? etc. Lots of little questions of whether or not I can trust what's being written in the comments.
Other than that, there is also the issue of quality: is there a system (e.g. karma, up/downvotes) that prunes the bad comments? the spam?
What about the ever-so-different way the comments are presented on blogs? Are comments threaded or linear?
To me, HN is the perfect framework for good conversations.
- bpatrianakos 14y agoSort of. I think HN is where you come to talk to other smart people about a topic. A blog's comment section is where you communicate directly with the author and a much broader, more random group of people. The latter is hit or miss with regards to quality but sometimes people surprise you.
- jvzr 14y agoBut unless the blogger uses very specific software (read: excluding static generators), there is no way to know someone has just posted a comment to a post you wrote two years ago. I'd much rather them send me an email so I can answer in due time rather than let the comment rot, and look like an ass for not responding. Honestly, I understand your argument and I respect it. But if it's a two-way communication, email is better albeit private; if it's between more than two people, then I feel like HN or alike is a better place.
- jaimebuelta 14y agoNot sure if I understand the argument. Most of the blog comment systems (WP, Discuss, etc) will send an email when a new comment is posted. Even two years later...