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Comment by cocktailpeanuts | Hacker News Reader

I hope HN had its top section carved out for some of the latest show HN entries. Kind of like how when you search on Google, the top entries are "sponsored links", but instead of sponsored links you would see latest show HN entries.

Sure there is a "show" menu item but who really clicks on that?

Which means most of us only find out about show HN projects ONLY IF they come up to the front page, or if we're constantly scanning the /newest page.

I've seen a lot of interesting projects just get buried for no reason. You could say "just keep posting until it gets traction", but anyone who's built and posted something on HN knows this is really stressful and easier said than done, because most people--no matter how much they believe in their own project--don't want to spam the site they like.

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>You could say "just keep posting until it gets traction", but anyone who's built and posted something on HN knows this is really stressful and easier said than done, because most people--no matter how much they believe in their own project--don't want to spam the site they like.

Wait, you won't get in trouble for sending duplicates? I was always under the impressions that mods were pretty strict about one-and-done. Goes to show me I guess.

Edit: Huh. Went back and read the rules, there seems to be nothing against it... It seems like what I thought was "one-and-done" was more "as a guideline, to be well-received, don't submit the same thing often"

I read before (but a mod could confirm) that the automatic rules to prevent duplicate posts are purposefully loosely set. There is some rule to not post the exact same link, but a small, meaningless variation at the URL is allowed as a trick to posting duplicates.

It is a practical way to give second chances without giving too much room for spamming. The fact that you didn't even know it was allowed seems to prove that it works.

What is not ok is to delete your own former posts to pretend you are posting for the first time.

With this perception in mind, my own personal rule is if my first post does not get too much traction, I post a second time, 10~12 hours later (to get a different audience). Usually, I stop, sometimes when I am too optimistic I post a third time a couple of days later. And then I give up and stop posting.

You can clearly see this pattern in my submission history.

The rules have changed slightly with the rise of the moderation culture in the past few years. In earlier HN times, your interpretation was more correct and it seems dupe submissions would attach to the previous submission for a longer period than now. I have seen repeat submissions (within reason) encouraged nowadays in order to get cream to rise to the top.

> Sure there is a "show" menu item but who really clicks on that?

6400 people yesterday.

That’s the problem with admins. They know stuff ;)

Who really clicks on https://news.ycombinator.com/shownew, which isn't in the top nav? A new "Show HN" doesn't get exposure on /show, as far as I know.

I almost mentioned that earlier—it was 2500. That was more than I expected, which is great because we want people to boost things off /shownew onto /show.

> Sure there is a "show" menu item but who really clicks on that?

I click everyday. The Show HN section is much more interesting than the frontpage.

I do too. And that was my point.

I don't know what the DAU of HN is, but I don't think 6400 out of the entire HN community is a large number.

Show HN is in my opinion the most interesting part about HN, and deserves more exposure IMO.

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