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Instant share button for Hacker News

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Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#11

Post by leot »

RegEx wrote: post #5
joering2 wrote: post #3

as much as like this idea, I dont like this idea. I think to true value in HN lays in the fact its not hugely popular in masses. It has its own group of brilliant hackers, programmers, lawyers, writers, etc, that are willing to spend time to read/write BECAUSE there is interesting stuff to read here, and other interesting people are willing to read what they want to write. If everyone jumps on this ship, most likely…

If you think the value of HN stems from it not being popular with the masses, you're fully capable of making HN 1 unit better by leaving. Oh, wait, this doesn't apply to you , does it?

By that reasoning, HN was best when it was just pg.

Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#12

Post by eoghan »

joering2 wrote: post #3

as much as like this idea, I dont like this idea. I think to true value in HN lays in the fact its not hugely popular in masses. It has its own group of brilliant hackers, programmers, lawyers, writers, etc, that are willing to spend time to read/write BECAUSE there is interesting stuff to read here, and other interesting people are willing to read what they want to write. If everyone jumps on this ship, most likely…

I find this idea of trying to maintain a certain "elite" quality quite silly. This sort of growth is a natural phenomenon that happens to valuable sites like HN.

Trying to prevent growth in a certain area (i.e. the less awesome people who you like here) will prevent growth in all areas—e.g. HN buttons could also promote HN to great but new hackers. If you stop these guys from getting involved, you'll cut off the lifeblood of a community whose participants are moving very quickly past the phase where they're excited to be involved in such a community—people get successful, busy, jaded, etc. and not forever passionate enough to bother doing the things that HN needs: reading, commenting, voting. You need new guys to replace the old guys, and both can learn from each other.

If HN is locked down to a degree that its natural growth is stunted, it will die, and probably deservedly so.

Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#13

Post by tptacek »

RegEx wrote: post #5
joering2 wrote: post #3

as much as like this idea, I dont like this idea. I think to true value in HN lays in the fact its not hugely popular in masses. It has its own group of brilliant hackers, programmers, lawyers, writers, etc, that are willing to spend time to read/write BECAUSE there is interesting stuff to read here, and other interesting people are willing to read what they want to write. If everyone jumps on this ship, most likely…

If you think the value of HN stems from it not being popular with the masses, you're fully capable of making HN 1 unit better by leaving. Oh, wait, this doesn't apply to you , does it?

What a weirdly hostile comment.

Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#14

Post by tptacek »

eoghan wrote: post #12
joering2 wrote: post #3

as much as like this idea, I dont like this idea. I think to true value in HN lays in the fact its not hugely popular in masses. It has its own group of brilliant hackers, programmers, lawyers, writers, etc, that are willing to spend time to read/write BECAUSE there is interesting stuff to read here, and other interesting people are willing to read what they want to write. If everyone jumps on this ship, most likely…

I find this idea of trying to maintain a certain "elite" quality quite silly. This sort of growth is a natural phenomenon that happens to valuable sites like HN. Trying to prevent growth in a certain area (i.e. the less awesome people who you like here) will prevent growth in all areas—e.g. HN buttons could also promote HN to great but new hackers. If you stop these guys from getting involved, you'll cut off the life…

The lifeblood of this community depends on... embedded "like" buttons?

Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#15

Post by tptacek »

DanBC wrote: post #10
PStamatiou wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't find it now, but this HN button thing has come up several times before and pg commented on it saying something similar.

Here's the discusssion: ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2934178 )

For the tl;dr crowd: this is a comment in which 'pg says basically the same thing as 'joering2.

Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#16

Post by espeed »

PStamatiou wrote: post #8
joering2 wrote: post #3

as much as like this idea, I dont like this idea. I think to true value in HN lays in the fact its not hugely popular in masses. It has its own group of brilliant hackers, programmers, lawyers, writers, etc, that are willing to spend time to read/write BECAUSE there is interesting stuff to read here, and other interesting people are willing to read what they want to write. If everyone jumps on this ship, most likely…

I can't find it now, but this HN button thing has come up several times before and pg commented on it saying something similar.

A few weeks ago someone said the ranking algorithm may silently disregard votes for directly-linked pages -- is this true?

Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#17

Post by Killswitch »

tptacek wrote: post #14
eoghan wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find this idea of trying to maintain a certain "elite" quality quite silly. This sort of growth is a natural phenomenon that happens to valuable sites like HN. Trying to prevent growth in a certain area (i.e. the less awesome people who you like here) will prevent growth in all areas—e.g. HN buttons could also promote HN to great but new hackers. If you stop these guys from getting involved, you'll cut off the life…

The lifeblood of this community depends on... embedded "like" buttons?

No, but the lifeblood of this community depends on new hackers who'd fit in but aren't here. It'll be a huge circlejerk if no new users are coming down the pipe to bring freshness to the community.

Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#18

Post by eoghan »

tptacek wrote: post #14
eoghan wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find this idea of trying to maintain a certain "elite" quality quite silly. This sort of growth is a natural phenomenon that happens to valuable sites like HN. Trying to prevent growth in a certain area (i.e. the less awesome people who you like here) will prevent growth in all areas—e.g. HN buttons could also promote HN to great but new hackers. If you stop these guys from getting involved, you'll cut off the life…

The lifeblood of this community depends on... embedded "like" buttons?

Read my comment again.

Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#19

Post by RegEx »

tptacek wrote: post #13
RegEx wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think the value of HN stems from it not being popular with the masses, you're fully capable of making HN 1 unit better by leaving. Oh, wait, this doesn't apply to you , does it?

What a weirdly hostile comment.

It's just extremely silly how people don't want other people on HN, as if they are any different.

Re: Instant share button for Hacker News

#20

Post by tptacek »

RegEx wrote: post #19
tptacek wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a weirdly hostile comment.

It's just extremely silly how people don't want other people on HN, as if they are any different.

I wonder why you didn't just say that, then.

But again note that the comment you're responding to is parroting something 'pg himself has said.

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