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Comment by rdiddly | Hacker News Reader

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rdiddly

A place to hang out (as it were) on the internet that is...

...connected to the tech scene

...ad-free

...not a "social network" in the usual data-harvesting sense

...slim, fast-loading, not riddled with bloat and bullshit

...not plagued quite so badly as the rest of the society "out there" by certain degenerate tendencies in what passes for discourse

...more interested in ideas and substance than in what color car the ideas and substance drove up in (and other black magic)

That's really it - that's enough. I didn't get anything cool like a job, but I know there's loads of info here for that too!

View on HN

There’s a lot to be said for the “slim, fast-loading” bit! HN is my go-to “is my internet connection at all functional?” web page. And when T-Mobile cuts me off when I run over my data allotment each month, at least I can read the comments.

You should get their unlimited(30gb) plan. I've had it for the past year, it's been super good so far.

Throttling doesn't kick in until 50GB now (T-mobile One).

Hey that’s not bad. I’m on a grandfathered plan that saves me a few bucks a month, but I keep thinking about switching.

I believe you also get a Netflix subscription included, which saves you an additional $10/month if you're already out of pocket for said subscription. Check it out! Happy T-mobile customer for 18 years.

Same here. HN is usually the site I go test my internet connection.

Even better for that purpose is neverssl.com. As the name implies, it’s http-only, so misconfigured WiFi portals will still intercept and load their captive login page.

I use example.com which is also guaranteed to not be https. If I'm asking someone else to type the URL in, it is easy to say "example.com" and know they can spell it correctly. It's also very light weight.

I use www.com because it's the shortest to type non-https site I know of.

How I check my internet:

1. Open Chrome

2. Type "sdjkgfhsjkfahfd" into the URL bar

3. Hit enter

I have been using this method since I was 9, has been nothing but useful for me.

Is it hard to remember that string every time?

asdlkfjhsdklfh, for example. I assume you are joking, the point is to enter a random string to see if google searches for it; as entering a fixed string takes longer.

My #1 reason, aside from the great number of quality and diverse stories that get posted:

The fantastic people in the comment section, with intelligent people who put real thought into what they write. You may find people dropping in from high up in major corporations, are SMEs of the highest order - or are just way cool in their own ways. Love it.

In addition to being a place to always learn, it's a true sanctuary for the mind - especially after eg reading public Facebook/Twitter/YouTube comments on just about anything.

(Thanks all!)

And also with many people who I believe are experts in their field adding insightful comments on a particular topic, and from whom one can ask some clarification directly. This direct access in a wide range of domains is I think quite valuable and unique.

..full of people who's views differ from mine that I can have good arguments with.

> that I can have good arguments with

That's the really special part. There's plenty of places to find people that have a differing opinion, but HN does the best job I've encountered of fostering good, substantive discussion.

It doesn't always work, but it works here more often and on more subjects than anywhere else I've found. That "more subjects" part is important too, since unlike a smaller more focused forum, you might find that someone you totally agreed with on one subject the day before is someone you are in complete disagreement with the next day, and this can go a long ways towards helping people to remember that if they disagree on the current subject, the other person is likely a rational, agreeable person that deserves the benefit of doubt when you've found yourself interpreting what they've said as extremely harsh, disagreeable or wrong.

I think this happens mostly because the site looks so boring on the outside to anyone but tech professionals and hobbyists and proper nerds. This discourages the majority of people who would otherwise bring immaturity to HN. Thankfully it's not yet had its Eternal September [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September

...has an anti-procrastination setting which is so unique in our current economy of attention-grabbing!

Well -- not totally ad free. There are the job postings for YC companies.

HN job postings, at least those on the first of the month, are open to anyone, not just YC companies.

Besides the Hiring thread, there are links to job postings of YC companies that appear like regular stories, e.g.: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16404959

As well as the Launch HNs for YC companies. Those are like the job ads in that they get a front-page placement. But unlike the job ads, they rise or fall based on voting after that.

Do you or does anyone know of any similar websites that are similar but slightly less-tech focused? I love it here but the coding articles / jobs can occasionally lose me.

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