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Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

#491

Post by [deleted] »

jedberg wrote: post #417
dang wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Here is a recent litmus test: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47051852 . How can we filter the lightweight stuff while still benefiting from posts like these? (a bit more about this at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056384 , with a reply from the OP)

One thing we did at reddit for a while was put posts from new people in "jail". They would show up in a special yellow box at the top of the home page to accounts that tended to be early upvoters of things that became successful later (our Nostradamusus so to speak), and then if it got enough upvotes from that group it got out of jail and placed on the regular /new page. So maybe some sort of filter like that? Only s…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

#492

Post by IAmGraydon »

How about this instead: if you have a new account, a certain number of downvotes from old/high karma accounts will ban the account, not just kill the comment. This gives moderation power to those who have shown themselves to be high value/long term contributors.

Re: Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

#493

Post by bergheim »

Terretta wrote: post #387
dang wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Here is a recent litmus test: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47051852 . How can we filter the lightweight stuff while still benefiting from posts like these? (a bit more about this at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056384 , with a reply from the OP)

Interesting litmus test, as the post isn't just green, it's riddled with LLM copyediting. Doesn't read as if originally composed by an LLM, so there's that. Would seem to require some discernment to classify. Not all assistive use is slop.

Some litmus test. I am sooo tired of statements like "No x. No y. No z." and then optionally "Just Foo.".

Who aside from Fred fucking Durst writes like that?

Ugh... Clearly llm generated. This is how internet has become. 90% of posts are variations of tropes like these.

Re: Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

#494

Post by ron_woods »

Reading through the comments so far I really don't see a way out of this without some real approval process. Late last year I joined the Rands Leadership Slack https://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leadership-slack/

This was the first time I encountered a fairly stringent "prove your human" process. It goes something like this:

1. Send email from an valid e-mail account.

2. Include your name, occupation, the briefest of explanations of why you want to join this Slack, how you heard about us, and that you have read and accept our Code of Conduct.

3. Include links to your BlueSky, LinkedIn, Github, X, or Mastodon — any site demonstrating you’re a human.

Now before anyone says these can all be automated by an agent. Yes you are correct, but I also had a e-mail conversation with Rand himself before joining his Slack. I know you can't do this at internet scale, but perhaps that era is over.

Re: Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

#495

Post by vunderba »

muldvarp wrote: post #449
vunderba wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I considered that - but any friction is better than none. Maybe integrate an additional consideration by which low karma (threshold Honestly, we don’t really have the same cold start problem that a brand new social media site would. We already have plenty of reputable active users here. So HN could restrict new accounts to only being able to comment initially . As they participate, their comments receive upvotes…

Creating more friction can also lead to a higher percentage of bots. I for one immefiately leave when I realize that I need to jump through several hoops before I'm actually allowed to participate on a site. Someone building a bot farm on the other hand is probably willing to tolerate quite some friction before giving up.

That's true. On the other hand, Hacker News is a pretty well known entity, so I think new users would be more willing to put in the time.

I also don't think it's too unreasonable to ask people to make comments and participate in the community before allowing them to do more.

Re: Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

#497

Post by basilikum »

ex-aws-dude wrote: post #307
alabhyajindal wrote: post #37

100%. Not sure what the solution is but I have lost interest in Show HNs these days. Part of it is because when someone posted before, it usually meant they spent a fair amount of time thinking, and found it worthwhile to spend energy on the project. This was a nice first filter for bad ideas and now no longer exists. Even for posts that are interesting to me, I get the feeling that it's not worth looking at because…

Someone telling you about their AI created project is like someone telling you their dream they had last night.

Don't be so hard on dreams. They are a creative work of a humans subconsciousness.

Re: Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

#498

Post by trinsic2 »

thinkingemote wrote: post #457
dang wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean I guess you're right - I didn't notice it, because the community reaction to the project was so positive. > Not all assistive use is slop. That's right, and the key is to discern which posts/projects are interesting.

The discussion about the LLM assisted/written submission at the time, with replies by the author: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47055300 The defence given was essentially "just reformatted it for better grammar" It's obviously says LLM to me at first read through. I suspect that: a) less people are willing to expend a bit of energy to notice LLM usage given how much of it is. ("we've lost" theory) b) that peop…

Do you have any good links to guides on how to spot? I would like to care, but its hard to tell. and then what do we do when we spot it?

Re: Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

#499

Post by trinsic2 »

bombcar wrote: post #308
Waterluvian wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SA Forums model does accomplish the goals of filtering out noise, but then you’re stuck with a stagnant community of “the right people.”

Unironically slashdot's moderating and meta-moderating is the best long-term system I've seen. Everything else seems to eventually cause new blood to dry up.

I stopped reading slashdot along time ago.. I wonder why.

Re: Ask HN: Please restrict new accounts from posting

#500

Post by qingcharles »

anonzzzies wrote: post #419
qingcharles wrote: post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Moderating Reddit subs can be a huge money maker. I know people making $100K/year from it. There are cabals, especially in the adult sections. Reddit has tried to address this recently by limiting the number of subs a person can moderate, but that just causes these big accounts to create more user accounts and split all their subs up that way.

I must be old and naive but you can make money with subreddits?

On the adult subs, at least, menu links, sidebar links and banner ads, automod reply links, and by limiting your sub to only paying guests or your own managed models.
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