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[meta] I know topics on HN have been getting pretty broad beyond tech and startups. But, this is reeaaaalllly stretching...

zorpner 11y ago
Downvoted and flagged; read the guidelines. Feel free to downvote and flag me as well.
dang 11y ago
Not have been getting, but have always been: https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html. The sole criterion for whether a story belongs on HN is: is it intellectually interesting. Breadth is the thing we care most about preserving here. Losing it would be the easiest thing in the world (not least because many don't see its value) and a sure way to dull the community. Does food writing count? A recipe probably wouldn't, nor food photos à la Tumblr or Yelp. But articles about the history or economics of food, or new techniques in making it, or some unusual social aspect—sure, why not?
- corysama 11y ago
  Thanks for the reminder, dang. I'll rephrase: ...are supposed to be pretty broad beyond tech and startups. But, I still think this is still reeaaaalllly stretching... It's a nice human interest piece with nice commentary on local customs and mouth-watering descriptions and pictures of food. But, not much else. Maybe I'd reading it too quickly, but I don't see much content that makes me think about much beyond "Those people seem really pleasant" and "That food sounds really yummy". Does it at least mention some unusual social aspects? Maaaaaybe a just bit... I guess I'm in the minority here. But, I'll still occasionally reiterate my concern whenever I see lots of votes for material that feels like it's pushing HN closer to /r/MildyInteresting. Lots of easy upvotes for easy, no-topic, snacky links and stuff...
  - dang 11y ago
    The risk of HN turning into r/anything is orders of magnitude smaller than the risk of getting stuck at a too-narrow local optimum.
ascorbic 11y ago
"On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity." This is an interesting article.
davidw 11y ago
I regularly flag pretty much any and all political articles, but this is something that... hey, maybe it's just interesting to people. It's not some lame thing causing boring, trite political flame wars.

zorpner 11y ago

Downvoted and flagged; read the guidelines. Feel free to downvote and flag me as well.

dang 11y ago

Not have been getting, but have always been: https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html. The sole criterion for whether a story belongs on HN is: is it intellectually interesting. Breadth is the thing we care most about preserving here. Losing it would be the easiest thing in the world (not least because many don't see its value) and a sure way to dull the community. Does food writing count? A recipe probably wouldn't, nor food photos à la Tumblr or Yelp. But articles about the history or economics of food, or new techniques in making it, or some unusual social aspect—sure, why not?

corysama 11y ago
Thanks for the reminder, dang. I'll rephrase: ...are supposed to be pretty broad beyond tech and startups. But, I still think this is still reeaaaalllly stretching... It's a nice human interest piece with nice commentary on local customs and mouth-watering descriptions and pictures of food. But, not much else. Maybe I'd reading it too quickly, but I don't see much content that makes me think about much beyond "Those people seem really pleasant" and "That food sounds really yummy". Does it at least mention some unusual social aspects? Maaaaaybe a just bit... I guess I'm in the minority here. But, I'll still occasionally reiterate my concern whenever I see lots of votes for material that feels like it's pushing HN closer to /r/MildyInteresting. Lots of easy upvotes for easy, no-topic, snacky links and stuff...
- dang 11y ago
  The risk of HN turning into r/anything is orders of magnitude smaller than the risk of getting stuck at a too-narrow local optimum.

ascorbic 11y ago

"On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity." This is an interesting article.

davidw 11y ago

I regularly flag pretty much any and all political articles, but this is something that... hey, maybe it's just interesting to people. It's not some lame thing causing boring, trite political flame wars.