31–40 of 465 posts
Recently it seems like Hacker News is just a place people use for marketing and posting links to other blogs, it's truly more like a social bookmarking site by now than it is about the feedback and community. I still have Hacker News in my Google Reader feed but it's becoming more and more about people who find an interesting page and posting it, even if the post was from 4 years ago and was on Hacker News 10 times a…
In my view, the main thing to change about this community over the last 5 years is that it's simply gotten bigger. As a result, the range of individuals you see is more diverse and the more there are a greater range of interests represented. There is a nostalgia associated with when the community was smaller and more intimate and I think that's what drives people to make claims about how things are declining. And I c…
What projects are you working on now? If you're still stuck with a long commute and you are looking for something to build, you could try your hand at a Hacker News replacement. There are certainly enough people here jaded by the toxicity that would make the jump someplace new. My only piece of advice, if you decide do this, don't post it as a "Show HN". Reach out to smart people privately to beta test it.
I vehemently agree with this. Aside from a few parent comments on each thread, the comment threads are sure to have somebody being overly finicky about the minutia of another comment. Diction is important, yes, but an important tool to any conversation is understanding when NOT to correct somebody, or make them clarify their obvious statement. It's kind of like HN's much crueler version of a Reddit pun thread, with the notable exception that, as soon as I see one, I will immediately collapse the former.
You're seeing what you want to see. If your idea is truly noteworthy, you will get lots of usable feedback on this site, despite all the negative (but still relevant) criticism. Two recent examples are Ouya and App.net; these ideas received tidal waves of negativity, but they were interesting ideas, and the ensuing threads were filled with useful and valid criticism (as well as supportive comments from backers). If your idea is only receiving negative comments, it's probably because it isn't compelling enough to merit the attention of thoughtful critics.
- Rumors about what Apple will do next week, and the ensuing flamewars between Apple fans and Android fans
- TorrentFreak articles of any kind
- Overbearing hype about the latest fad (App.net at the moment)
- Mindless hatred towards the latest villain (Twitter at the moment)
- Anything political that's posted under the justification that "all hackers need to care about politics"
Sorry to see you go, I hope that you find somewhere with more civil discourse.
Hate this, it's pointless. :p
It may be seasonal, or something similar, and I'll admit to having anecdotal evidence only, but I have had a similar impression to the OP, albeit not quite as strongly.
I wonder if some of it is defensiveness from users scared HN will turn into Reddit? Certainly, I've seen a lot of "downvote this post, it's not something that should be on HN" comments lately.