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Show HN: Show HN

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151–160 of 182 posts

Re: Show HN: Show HN

#151
This is great, and actually got me rummaging through the /shownew last night.

However, looks like everyone else did too as the front page has >50% Show HN stories this morning.

Not that that's a bad thing, I imagine it's a good day to have submitted a Show HN.

Re: Show HN: Show HN

#152
post #127
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I don't know if it's safe to assume longer tenured members inherently have more class when offering feedback. I don't think it is. If anything, tenured members may feel more entitled to be rude without consequences. Karma isn't really a measure of civility so much as popularity over time, and it doesn't really communicate any context. Also, if there were a minimum for commenting, there should be a minimum for postin…

> Also, if there were a minimum for commenting, there should be a minimum for posting, which might leave new users with interesting projects out. I don't get that implication. The commenters, if seen as offering mentorship , should necessarily be more experienced than the people they're trying to help. Otherwise, what's the point?

I like to repeat this fact whenever it's relevant: In my two or three years now on HN, the most upvotes I've ever got were all on scornful comments (towards a single company). It didn't make me or others any wiser, though I still got 'karma' points.

Re: Show HN: Show HN

#154
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The comments on this post are perfect examples of why it's hard to predict what's going to take off and what won't. And also why it's sometimes a good idea to just give people the benefit of doubt.

And also how people on HN sometimes have trouble putting themselves in the shoes of others. The 2nd top comment is a perfect example: > For a Linux user, you can already build such a system yourself quite trivially by getting an FTP account, mounting it locally with curlftpfs, and then using SVN or CVS on the mounted filesystem. From Windows or Mac, this FTP account could be accessed through built-in software.

One learns a lot in 8 years, it turns out.

To be fair, I was making an argument that it was trivial to replicate, and it was... Ubuntu, Google, Microsoft, and several others did just that. Kudos to Dropbox for their unanticipated (by me, anyway) staying power.

Re: Show HN: Show HN

#155
post #61

The consequence will be a lot more Show HN on the front page, a bit like the "upvote all Show HN" day which broke HN completely. I'm seeing it already.

It would be just temporary as people try out the new feature. Things will stablize.

Re: Show HN: Show HN

#156
post #114

I'm actually kind of bothered by this. I was about to release signups for a private beta of my current project, but apparently that no longer fits the formal criteria of "Show HN." Disappointing to say the least.

You cannot show something that cannot be seen? I guess?

Re: Show HN: Show HN

#157
post #127
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I don't know if it's safe to assume longer tenured members inherently have more class when offering feedback. I don't think it is. If anything, tenured members may feel more entitled to be rude without consequences. Karma isn't really a measure of civility so much as popularity over time, and it doesn't really communicate any context. Also, if there were a minimum for commenting, there should be a minimum for postin…

> Also, if there were a minimum for commenting, there should be a minimum for posting, which might leave new users with interesting projects out. I don't get that implication. The commenters, if seen as offering mentorship , should necessarily be more experienced than the people they're trying to help. Otherwise, what's the point?

Yes, but experience in the project domain(s). Which doesn't correlate with experience using HN. Not even for $tech_du_jour_popular_on_HN.

Re: Show HN: Show HN

#158
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely agree on these guidelines. It takes a lot of bravery to put yourself out there in public. It should take just as much class to offer advice and constructive criticism instead of tearing somebody else's work down. edit also, is it just me or is the front page plastered with Show HN links? Does anybody else think that's awesome ?

Am I the only one who thinks it isn't awesome? As someone who comes to HN for news, I really don't want to see any Shown HN on the front page. Certainly not half the front page filled with them.

Before this feature, users had to search manually. Now it's easier to find. This just reflects the content we've wanted.

Re: Show HN: Show HN

#160
post #147
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree 100%. In addition, a friendly reminder to us all... When you see a Show HN, assume that whoever created it, perhaps not unlike you, is working to drive his or her dreams into existence. Each post represents a dream, a personal story, a literal piece of their Life. For many of us, perhaps the majority of us, that means grinding at the mine during the day, returning home after perhaps a long commute, spending t…

The problem is that people are different. Some people will like the diverse community at HN to scrutinise their work to potentially improve it. Otherwise just want positive reinforcement. You can't really put both sides into the same bucket and decide that everyone should sugarcoat all the time. I love criticising and my projects being criticised as long as there clearly is knowledge or experience behind. What if you…

I don't think anyone is suggesting a lack of honest feedback. I don't like the phrase "constructive criticism" because it's been used into meaningless, but that's basically what's being suggested. Let me try an example instead of a definition.

Let's say someone is making a clear architectural misstep: They're trying to use python/django on a project, but their goals really require something like Tornado, and they're building themselves into a corner.

Maybe from where you're sitting it looks like an idiot mistake. The question is then, how to engage? Do you tell them condescendingly that only an idiot would misuse tools like that, and that they're foolishly the HTTP request/response model that Django implements?

Or, do you try to guess at where their knowledge fails, and give them links to writeups about asynchronous programming? Or do you engage them in conversation and try to ascertain why they're making the mistake, and gently explain that better programming models have been devised for the problem they're trying to solve, and why don't they look into it and see if they agree, and "by the way if you have any more questions here's my email, I'd be happy to help."

If people can't handle receiving this last approach, then it speaks to a certain lack of immaturity. If people can't handle acting taking this, it also speaks to a certain lack of maturity. We should try to build and enforce social norms that help growth as programmers and minimize conflict. Fortunately these goals aren't inimical; in fact, the more contentious the discussion, the less learning gets done.

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