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Poll: Would HN benefit from Reddit's AMA-style posts from technologists?

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Re: Poll: Would HN benefit from Reddit's AMA-style posts from technologists?

#91

Post by rustynails77 »

SCdF wrote: post #50
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah and I want to say this the right way, but I probably won't. I don't give a shit who you are on HN . I'm here to collect useful stuff for the people I'm trying to help in my startups, not to get autographs. If you have something useful to contribute, thank you. I'll try to do the same. Otherwise? Who you are, how much you make, how much you sold out for, all of that? Not so much. This is just an awful, terrible,…

In case it's not obvious from the juxtaposition of our two posts, I completely agree. Having "tech famous" people on HN is great not because they're tech famous, but because they can provide the sorts of information that made them tech famous (as in, they're smart / knowledgeable). It's not important that they're famous, it's important that they can often provide insight into what we're talking about, because they we…

>seem to mostly be "You're awesome, I just wanted to ask, how did you get so awesome?"

To be fair, that's why I come to HN instead of Reddit (which I NEVER visit). HN is an amazing site with many high quality posts - I think Reddit at the opposite end of the spectrum - because that's what it was when I last looked at it years ago.

A variant of this idea by the OP could work if it was handled correctly - for example, if Richard Branson was invited to talk about establishing successful corporate cultures. If there was an emphasis on a specific individual with a specific topic, then this could work.

Lastly, please don't turn HN into Reddit. I honestly believe this would kill the exact thing that makes this site unique.

Re: Poll: Would HN benefit from Reddit's AMA-style posts from technologists?

#92

Post by duaneb »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #31

Why don't we let Reddit be Reddit, and HN be HN? Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us? This is a very bad idea in my opinion. Since I have no clue how to run a busy site, that means it'll probably happen. :)

> Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us?

I'd much rather just straight up ask him questions instead of waiting for him to appear.

Re: Poll: Would HN benefit from Reddit's AMA-style posts from technologists?

#93

Post by greghinch »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #31

Why don't we let Reddit be Reddit, and HN be HN? Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us? This is a very bad idea in my opinion. Since I have no clue how to run a busy site, that means it'll probably happen. :)

The level of discourse in HN comments is leaps and bounds better than that in Reddit. At the very least, you'd get a much more useful and legible comment thread. And presumably the topics would be more focused on the HN crowd, where as Reddit runs the gamut

Re: Poll: Would HN benefit from Reddit's AMA-style posts from technologists?

#95

Post by _delirium »

achompas wrote: post #74
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #31

Why don't we let Reddit be Reddit, and HN be HN? Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us? This is a very bad idea in my opinion. Since I have no clue how to run a busy site, that means it'll probably happen. :)

Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us? Because the odds of getting Famous Joe Blow X to run a HN AMA are much, much higher than getting him to become an active HNer. We're talking about a one-time commitment versus extended involvement in our community. Look at the roster of AMA guests on Redd…

> by participating in AMAs, they enrich Reddit's community

That's the part I'm skeptical of, at least keeping in mind what community means in the HN sense. They don't really seem to be part of the Reddit community at all; they're more like the "content" that the Reddit community is discussing any given day. What's more interesting about the HN community to me is that some pretty accomplished people are actually part of the community.

Given the quality of questions/answers in a typical AMA, I'm not even sure how it's different from just linking to an offsite TechCrunch interview. Is it just some kind of fuzzy feeling of having participated?

Re: Poll: Would HN benefit from Reddit's AMA-style posts from technologists?

#96

Post by goblin89 »

duaneb wrote: post #92
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #31

Why don't we let Reddit be Reddit, and HN be HN? Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us? This is a very bad idea in my opinion. Since I have no clue how to run a busy site, that means it'll probably happen. :)

> Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us? I'd much rather just straight up ask him questions instead of waiting for him to appear.

Why would you wait for him to do an AMA, then? Can't we ask questions and get answers without the help of HN—say, via email?

Re: Poll: Would HN benefit from Reddit's AMA-style posts from technologists?

#98

Post by specialist »

Slashdot Answers are superior to Reddit's AMA.

Slashdot solicits questions, people vote, guest is asked to answer the top 10. Quite rewarding.

Reddit AMAs feel like drive bys. Guests select a few questions to answer. Very casual. Very low signal to noise.

Reddit AMAs are almost as content-free as Presidential debates in the USA.

Re: Poll: Would HN benefit from Reddit's AMA-style posts from technologists?

#99

Post by goblin89 »

achompas wrote: post #74
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #31

Why don't we let Reddit be Reddit, and HN be HN? Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us? This is a very bad idea in my opinion. Since I have no clue how to run a busy site, that means it'll probably happen. :)

Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us? Because the odds of getting Famous Joe Blow X to run a HN AMA are much, much higher than getting him to become an active HNer. We're talking about a one-time commitment versus extended involvement in our community. Look at the roster of AMA guests on Redd…

Can the possibility of one-time commitment reduce extended involvement ‘rate’, or otherwise negatively affect community (attract unexpected public, possibly)? Taking into account differences between the audiences of HN and Reddit.

Re: Poll: Would HN benefit from Reddit's AMA-style posts from technologists?

#100

Post by jlgaddis »

greghinch wrote: post #93
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #31

Why don't we let Reddit be Reddit, and HN be HN? Why would I want HN to be a megaphone for Famous Joe Blow X when I'd much rather have him actively participating and helping out in the threads with the rest of us? This is a very bad idea in my opinion. Since I have no clue how to run a busy site, that means it'll probably happen. :)

The level of discourse in HN comments is leaps and bounds better than that in Reddit. At the very least, you'd get a much more useful and legible comment thread. And presumably the topics would be more focused on the HN crowd, where as Reddit runs the gamut

You are assuming that the Reddit crowd wouldn't participate in the HN AMAs.

Many probably would and, possibly worse, they might stick around.

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