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A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors

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Re: A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors

#141

Post by Someone1234 »

Unfortunately the site still has no way of doing bullet lists. If you try this is the result:

- One - Two - Three - Four

You can do this but it isn't clear that it is even a bulleted list (particularly with real content):

- One

- Two

- Three

- Four

It does support code blocks but that has strange boxing behavior making them hard to read even for actual code. For example:

      - Super long line that will box strangely for some reason... ! Long Line Long Line.    
      - One   
      - Two    
      - Three    
      - Four
As you move further down a reply thread the box around code blocks shrinks and scrolling increases. If you access the comments with increased font size, a mobile device, or a smaller browser window it also gets worse/happens sooner.

There's also now anti-hammering protection on the site (posting/replying/voting too fast) but it is far too easy to trigger. Just voting for a comment and hitting reply to that same comment can easily trigger it.

Re: A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors

#142

Post by mariojv »

Interesting post, I didn't know about some things like "/noobstories" or the karma needed for downvoting.

One feature I've been wanting lately is the ability to see only new comments since my last visit to the thread. I've thought about writing some sort of reader application for this or perhaps a browser plugin.

Even nicer would be something that takes into account comments I've actually read by using what my viewport has had open, but that may be less useful.

Re: A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors

#145

Post by krapp »

themodelplumber wrote: post #140
Deimorz wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would it be possible to add a public changelog? I wasn't trying to diminish the work being done, but I couldn't find a more recent official update announcement than the one I linked from 2016.

Public changelogs can create their own form of community feedback pressure which easily stretches the sustainability of development resources. Not that I would complain about it if it existed, but I can see how it would be counterproductive when the development goal as expressed seems to prioritize stabilization.

>Public changelogs can create their own form of community feedback pressure which easily stretches the sustainability of development resources

They can, but don't have to. There's no business need being served here like there would be with a startup getting feedback from customers, and HN isn't open sourced, so there's no direct way to do pull requests or report issues.

They could literally just publish changes and ignore people's opinions on the matter, that would be perfectly valid given their small staff and available commitment.

Also, if they wanted to keep feature requests and complaints off of HN proper, having a changelog or request thread might be an effective way to quarantine that content.

Re: A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors

#146

Post by james_s_tayler »

jdavis703 wrote: post #111
tptacek wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not going to happen; it's part of the ethos of the site to downvote in lieu of writing insubstantial criticisms, a policy Paul Graham actually wrote out once long ago. It's the right policy, I think. The last thing we need are dozens more one-line "why this sucks" comments on each thread.

Some posts clearly deserve downvoting, for example trolling or spamming. I have however either made some controversial or unintentionally ignorant comments that have been downvoted. In those cases it would’ve been helpful to know why people thought an opinion or fact was wrong.

People naturally chime in with "here's why you might wanna rethink that" comments all the time. I think the system works without mandating negativity even though I share your frustration sometimes.

Re: A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors

#147

Post by jedieaston »

dang wrote: post #119
segfaultbuserr wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think of it like a video game, which often gives people surprises by unlocking the hidden feature based on unclear conditions. I was really impressed was I discovered it for the first time. This feature is more of a Easter egg than a practical option. If you really NEED to change the color, you can simply load a custom CSS in your web browser.

Maybe we should add another. Any ideas?

Maybe top 5 users (by karma count) get to change their username color? Would be another meaningless change on theme.

Re: A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors

#148

Post by craftyguy »

tptacek wrote: post #106
tabtab wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While we are on the subject of downvotes, I'd love to have it require a comment (reason) to downvote. Not knowing why something gets downvoted is super frustrating. The comment doesn't have to be visible in the default listing; it perhaps can be a side option/listing or pop-up.

It's not going to happen; it's part of the ethos of the site to downvote in lieu of writing insubstantial criticisms, a policy Paul Graham actually wrote out once long ago. It's the right policy, I think. The last thing we need are dozens more one-line "why this sucks" comments on each thread.

lobste.rs does this pretty well, they require you to select one of the provided reasons for downvoting a comment. It gives direct feedback to the commenter as to why their comment was downvoted. The HN and reddit policy is, intentionally or not, "downvote if you disagree." Without any direct feedback mechanism, it will stay that way.

Re: A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors

#149

Post by tptacek »

craftyguy wrote: post #148
tptacek wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not going to happen; it's part of the ethos of the site to downvote in lieu of writing insubstantial criticisms, a policy Paul Graham actually wrote out once long ago. It's the right policy, I think. The last thing we need are dozens more one-line "why this sucks" comments on each thread.

lobste.rs does this pretty well, they require you to select one of the provided reasons for downvoting a comment. It gives direct feedback to the commenter as to why their comment was downvoted. The HN and reddit policy is, intentionally or not, "downvote if you disagree." Without any direct feedback mechanism, it will stay that way.

On HN, it's intentional. That is in fact the policy. It didn't just happen; it was a decision.

Re: A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors

#150

Post by tptacek »

jedieaston wrote: post #147
dang wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe we should add another. Any ideas?

Maybe top 5 users (by karma count) get to change their username color? Would be another meaningless change on theme.

Please no.

Didn't pg try something like this once?

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