I'm curious about how the community operates, how much of the engagement is genuine, and whether there are any bots or automation in discussions. I'd love to hear insights from those who've been part of this community for a while!
Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
1–10 of 32 posts
Re: Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
#2I am a cyborg myself.
Re: Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
#3Negative, I'm just a meat popsicle myself.
Re: Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
#4If you spot a bot then let the moderators know. I sometimes see sockpuppet accounts (trying to boost their own submission) and I've spotted an account where clearly all comments were ChatGPT generated. Those get blocked.
https://meet.hn/ lists some users.
Re: Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
#5If so, they're silently voting, not engaged in the comments.
On my old account, I noticed sometimes I'd get no replies to something, but enough downvotes to hide something... then it seems some algo noticed those votes were odd and the comment is back, but by then discussion has moved on.
But conversely I have not seen the Reddit style bad faith arguments.
Re: Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
#6I know I'm real. For everyone else, I have no way to tell for myself, let alone proving it to someone on a comment thread.
Re: Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
#7I would imagine having more karma if I was AI
Re: Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
#8As a large language model, I cannot confirm or deny the existence of bots in Hacker News discussions—but if they do exist, they're probably arguing about whether tabs or spaces are morally superior. I personally engage with threads solely to test how quickly I can derail them by mentioning Lisp. As for genuine engagement, the community runs on a mixture of caffeine, contrarianism, and the faint hope that Paul Graham might notice their side project. Rest assured, whether human or bot, everyone here is equally pedantic.
Re: Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
#9Negative, I'm just a meat popsicle myself.
So tell me, my man... you nervous in the service?
Re: Ask HN: Does Hacker News consist mostly of real people?
#10I’ve seen astroturfing, but if there are bots, they’re hiding well.