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Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?

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Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?

#191

Post by dredmorbius »

detaro wrote: post #187
fouc wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree about the problem of quality conversations fading too quickly. Perhaps HN could add a /topconversations or /yesterdayconversations link that only highlights the best conversation threads from 24 hours ago. That way attention on good discussions could be maintained for an extra day.

https://news.ycombinator.com/front ?

That's useful, and it's often a good way to browse the site --- after a day, assessments on what's significant tend to settle out.

That said, it still won't highlight conversations which have come back to life.

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?

#192

Post by tpoacher »

I don't mind the absence of notifications per se (in fact I think it's a good thing).

But I do mind that there is no easy way (not even visually!) to track "unread" replies, especially direct replies in older posts.

It does make me wonder how many chances I've missed at stimulating conversation on a topic I was interested, whereas now it just looks like I'm ghosting people.

I wouldn't mind "tagging" for instance (i.e. not all notifications enabled by default, but the ability to be notified when "tagged", e.g. via @username)

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?

#193

Post by donohoe »

I am not sure I would want this by default.

I would like an opt-in setting where if I made a top-level comment I get notified if any of the following are true:

- My Comment is upvoted 5 times and I get a Reply. - A Reply to my Comment on it is upvoted 5 times. - I receive more than 3 Replies.

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?

#196

Post by robbiep »

passivate wrote: post #137
mindcrime wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you are pretty much guaranteed not to see replieds to older comments. I consider this a feature, not a bug. IMO, it's good to let older conversations just kinda "run out of steam" as attention moves elsewhere. In my experience, extended discussions here tend to be unproductive flame-war level discussion. I don't see any value in making it easier to sustain that.

There are many times I don't reply to a comment that is multiple days old simply because nobody is going to read it. In my experience, the "hot takes" are often low quality comments. Quality comments take time and thought, and HN isn't conducive for that.

I’ve replied to multiple days old comments and been replied to in turn. I think when you do this you’re not performing for an audience but responding to another person or couple of people individually. The fact not many people are going to see it should be irrelevant - is a piece of art (or a notebook doodle) not worth doing because it has an audience of one?

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?

#197

Post by FunnyLookinHat »

kodah wrote: post #132
pvg wrote: post #97

This has been addressed by dang before, one representative pastequote from a recent (ish) comment: Yes, I think we'll continue to avoid the notification system, not just because of flamewars but also because (relatedly) it's not so compatible with curiosity. Push notifications seem to jack up the nervous system in a way that's good for engagement but not necessarily for users—we all experience this elsewhere on the i…

I really like the lack of push notifications. Sometimes I'll make a reply during my morning coffee, do some work, then check back in the afternoon to find hundreds of replies and deep threaded discussion. The sense of pride I get from being able to start a healthy thread without more participation is opposed to the jacking of the nervous system dang is reflecting on. In some way, it builds my confidence in this commu…

I'm always pleasantly surprised to show up at the end of the day, click through my posts, and see thoughtful replies. I rarely have the time to back-and-forth in a thread - push notifications would probably just discourage me from ever posting. But... seeing some replies or upvotes for something I wrote the previous day - that's always a nice "Hey - thanks for sharing" that I don't feel compelled to reply to as the day has already passed.

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?

#198

Post by warrenm »

ziggus wrote: post #178
warrenm wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Social voting is broken - and probably shouldn't exist ( https://antipaucity.com/2015/09/16/like-problems-social-voti... ) That said, I'm not asking for notifications on upvotes (like Stack Overflow does) I'm asking for the basic functionality of all internet fora I've interacted with for the last close to 30 years that tell you if you have any replies

HN isn't a forum.

...says the person replying to a comment ;)

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?

#199

Post by warrenm »

scythe wrote: post #142
warrenm wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thanks for proving my point: I had to go hunting for this submission just to see if anyone had replied/answered And no one has (as of 1133 EST 17-Feb-2022) provided a real answer for why HN has such an obvious feature missing :)

>And no one has (as of 1133 EST 17-Feb-2022) provided a real answer for why HN has such an obvious feature missing :) This kind of reply is exactly the reason I'm glad that HN does not have reply notifications. At least a dozen people have clearly explained that they prefer HN without reply notifications, but you're here offering a troll-ish claim of "no real answer" with a correspondingly sarcastic emoticon.

If HN functioned like a normal internet forum, ie it had reply notifications, then if/when someone actually posted why HN has intentionally decided to break the pattern would've popped up as something findable

But no one had (as of when I commented)

Re: Ask HN: Why doesn't HN alert users in some manner to new replies?

#200

Post by warrenm »

stronglikedan wrote: post #141
warrenm wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's incredibly disappointing :(

Why? Most users don't want them. And for those that do, there's https://www.hnreplies.com/ , as well as other options mentioned elsewhere here.

That you have to use one of what ...a dozen[ish] options I've seen posted today to get to what is a fundamentally standard part of every forum experience (except this one) shows how out of touch the HN devs are, imo
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