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Ask HN: What has HN given you?

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Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#471

Post by Quenty »

jdminhbg wrote: post #434
el_benhameen wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a lot to be said for the “slim, fast-loading” bit! HN is my go-to “is my internet connection at all functional?” web page. And when T-Mobile cuts me off when I run over my data allotment each month, at least I can read the comments.

Even better for that purpose is neverssl.com. As the name implies, it’s http-only, so misconfigured WiFi portals will still intercept and load their captive login page.

I use example.com which is also guaranteed to not be https. If I'm asking someone else to type the URL in, it is easy to say "example.com" and know they can spell it correctly. It's also very light weight.

Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#472

Post by b3lvedere »

I gradually found out that a lot of tech news starts right here at HN. Great responses as well. Very professional and very mature.

This may sound strange, but sometimes i feel like an stupid idiot around here and i kinda like that, because i'm learning great new things. Sometimes i also act like an idiot, but i hope i can apologise for that. :)

Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#473

Post by TremendousJudge »

godelski wrote: post #418
snowwrestler wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I looked at bitcoin very early, when it was pitched as digital currency free from the problems of fiat money. My impression was that the proponents did not understand currency and that bitcoin would make a terrible currency. As it turns out, I was right. But by being right, I missed a huge speculative windfall. While it would have been nice to make a bunch of money for nothing, I don't really have regrets because my…

Most people I know invested in still talk about it as a currency. We talk transaction rates and all that, but they are still convinced it is the "money of the future." So I think a lot still luck out. There are clear market manipulations. But that's why I still stay out. I do not see it as a missed opportunity.

I take issue with the term 'invest' being used here. When somebody invests in something, they expect returns to come in the form of dividends, interest, or something of the sort. When somebody buys something because they expect to sell it later at a higher price, they aren't investing, they're speculating

Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#474

Post by wyldfire »

kbenson wrote: post #208
omgbananas wrote: post #20

I learned about Bitcoin here when it was just a whitepaper, but didn't recognize the opportunity then. A year ago, another user mentioned Monero so I looked into and discovered it's more "bitcoin" than Bitcoin and bought what I could. I'm not a millionaire, but it sure has helped me financially, so I'm really appreciative that I took advantage of that opportunity. EDIT: and for something a little more intrinsic: Ever…

Tell me about it. I remember when it was single digit dollars, and it was a curiosity, but it didn't hold my interest. Then it was double digits, and I was like, "huh." Then is was somewhere around $40, and I thought "maybe I should get a couple? But money's kind of tight, maybe later." Then it was over $100, and I thought "surely this can't go much higher? This definitely isn't the time to buy." I thought that same…

> I've learned a valuable lesson. I'm far too risk averse to invest in something like this

I find myself often bathing in regret and telling myself "if I could travel back in time, I'd just ...". But these days I try to snap myself out of it and say "You are traveling in time, but you're traveling forward in time -- take that risk now and travel into the future and reap your rewards." It doesn't always work, but it helps give me some perspective.

Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#475

Post by spython »

supermdguy wrote: post #461
spython wrote: post #405

HN got me into dancing. Around five years ago there was a thread about books that changed your lives. Someone wrote about Impro by Keith Johnstone - an introduction to improvisational theater interspersed with a lot of personal stories. I read it and fell in love with the honesty and the new view of social interaction the book offered. I found a dance theater studio near me - the closest thing to impro theater that w…

Found the thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5570013 The "unknown HN user" is bambax

You made me look back and I think it was gruseom from the thread Surprisingly undervalued books

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4651165

Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#476

Post by tevlon »

_blz2 wrote: post #401
tevlon wrote: post #297

1,5 years ago, i was suicidal ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13051611 ). 1 week after posting this. I got a visit from the police. Apparently, someone gave them the ip and it took them a week to locate me. They wanted to take me to the hospital to check if i had mental problems. Of course they couldn't force me to go. I assured them that i would fix my problems and make a therapy. It was a wakeup call for me.…

did you attend therapy? and did it help? It might sound like a stupid and a lazy question, but what happens in therapy?

I have to say. I didn't. So here is the rest of the story:

I assured the police to make a therapy. They said they will check in a week, if i reached for help. I did. I called the Psychological Counseling Services at my university. They said their next free session is in 2 Months. The police officer who came to my flat called me ^. I told them... that they are fully booked and the next free spot is in 2 Months. He asked for the phone number of the counseiling service. I guess he called them and they confirm that i have an appointment in 2 months. This is where the sotry ended for the police officer. In hindsight, i don't think they really cared. They just did their duty. Anyway:

Fast-forward 1 Month: i went to switzerland looking for a job and i got an offer, 1 week after my interviews. Fast-forward another month: i didn't go to couseling, because i had exams and i felt much better. But i would have taken the counseling, if i was still depressed. That job offer was my way out of my depression. Sometimes, you can get out. Sometimes you are able to get out of this "dark place" yourself, but most of the times, you should seek for help! So if somebody is reading this. PLEASE GET HELP! Don't try to convince yourself, that you can get out on your own.

Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#477

Post by dang »

hestipod wrote: post #406
tevlon wrote: post #297

1,5 years ago, i was suicidal ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13051611 ). 1 week after posting this. I got a visit from the police. Apparently, someone gave them the ip and it took them a week to locate me. They wanted to take me to the hospital to check if i had mental problems. Of course they couldn't force me to go. I assured them that i would fix my problems and make a therapy. It was a wakeup call for me.…

I actually find this very unsettling as I was about to post a last ditch "advice or help" post with lots of potentially identifiable details required to relate the story (and would have had to ID myself to anyone helping anyway) and don't feel safe doing so now, because the police being called to my home would result in more problems for me and potentially total loss of agency. Even if I could avoid being taken in ag…

You could make a throwaway account. It's legit to do that when there's sensitive information in a post, and many people have reached out to the community that way when in a hard spot. tevlon didn't do it that way, which is fine too of course, but you could.

Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#478

Post by wheresvic1 »

Unfortunately, I only found out about HN a couple of years back in 2016. I had been looking for such a community for an incredibly long time and somehow I used to always wonder how some of my colleagues knew what was the latest in the tech scene.

Anyways, when I first joined, I fell into a bit of a depression due to the impostor syndrome :(. Fortunately for me, I had quite a few other changes happening in my personal life so I was able to snap out of it and focus on using the platform to learn and grow rather than be intimidated.

I had also recently started blogging in 2015 and I remember submitting one of my articles (it was about using gmail with mutt) to HN. It hit front page for over 100 points) and it was one of the most thrilling moments of my career!

I went on to get a few more submissions on to the front page and HN also gave my the confidence to launch my side project which also hit the front page: https://ewolo.fitness

A big thank you to everyone on here :)

Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#479

Post by gruseom »

spython wrote: post #475
supermdguy wrote: post #461

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Found the thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5570013 The "unknown HN user" is bambax

You made me look back and I think it was gruseom from the thread Surprisingly undervalued books https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4651165

Yippee!

Re: Ask HN: What has HN given you?

#480

Post by mazumdar »

rkuykendall-com wrote: post #421
mazumdar wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nearly 5 years ago, a few months after being rejected from YC for the first time, I came across your Show HN and started using Webflow to build a mockup of my product's sign-up page (I did not know how to code at that time). Over the next 2.5 years, I reapplied to YC five more times. I interviewed twice in the second round. I eventually got rejected every time. From the ideation stage, to $1M in revenue, YC has an ap…

Sorry if you've answered this elsewhere before, but what's with the logo? It almost looks like an exact copy of Y Combinator. Was that the case when you were applying?

Yeah our logo has not changed since inception but it’s not a copy of YC or anyone else. Take a closer look here - http://bit.ly/2obM60y (first image is our logo)
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