I think it's fair to assume that HN is a fairly technical community and could manage such a feat on its own, so these: "here is how to switch from [insert Googl

I think it's fair to assume that HN is a fairly technical community and could manage such a feat on its own, so these: "here is how to switch from [insert Google service] to its competitor" posts strike me as karma-bait (and they do get votes). As to these ads you're so troubled by: Twitter ads look like tweets, Facebook ads look like Facebook posts, and of course search ads look like search results, at least in Gmail they have their own designated area. They replace the webclip ads when the "promotions" tab is enabled http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2013/06/ads-in-gmails-promotions-tab.html http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2013/06/ads-in-gmails-promo... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6069372 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6069372 Also quoting some random Marco Arment anti-Google troll as though it has some weight or authority doesn't help your point.