Honestly I’m glad it doesn’t. Reply notifications may increase engagement, but I’d argue they reduce the quality of discussion, since such notifications would encourage rapid back and forth arguments.
[deleted]
Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
11–20 of 239 posts
Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
#12No post body was provided.
Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
#13Why doesn't HN do a lot of things? HN tries to be minimalistic, and a lot of people are happy with that (me included).
Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
#14I love that they don't change anything. Social media services like Reddit that change things eventually change into shit.
They don't change nothing, but they're very careful when they introduce a change. Most are so subtle you wouldn't notice, and that's the point.
Some in recent memory I can think of:
* prev/next/parent links
* Show HN can now have both a text body and a link (they used to only have a link and you had to submit a reply with your explanation)
Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
#15One less dopamine hit that I can definitely live without. I also feel it gives people less incentive to craft replies for others and instead comment intelligently (yes, there are many replies which are not that, but I have faith the majority are)
Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
#16That sounds horrible, I’m usually using hn while working, the last thing I need is another distraction. I like intentionality of the platform
Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
#17Automatic plug whenever I see this asked: nnhackernews.
Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
#18Honestly I’m glad it doesn’t. Reply notifications may increase engagement, but I’d argue they reduce the quality of discussion, since such notifications would encourage rapid back and forth arguments.
I believe this is also the official reason
Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
#19Its typical that everyone is defending the status quo. I doubt the reason it doesn't have that feature is because they are against it. I think it's just one of those things that adds a significant amount of complexity without a ton of benefit for most people. But I also think if they had several developers working on the site, they would have done it.
You can just scan down recent threads to see if there are replies.
But it's objectively a missing feature that could be somewhat useful.
Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?
#20I love that they don't change anything. Social media services like Reddit that change things eventually change into shit.
They don't change nothing, but they're very careful when they introduce a change. Most are so subtle you wouldn't notice, and that's the point. Some in recent memory I can think of: * prev/next/parent links * Show HN can now have both a text body and a link (they used to only have a link and you had to submit a reply with your explanation)
>Most are so subtle you wouldn't notice, and that's the point.
That can't be the point. There's no reason to introduce new features with the expectation that no one will ever notice or use them. Honestly, I think this forum cargo-cults its "minimalist" aesthetic far too much.