Hacker News Reader

Comment by gist | Hacker News Reader

> Here are some of our favorite Hacker News comments

a) Who is 'our'? And why is HN typically opaque like this? [1]

b) Why are they some of your favorite comments? Reasons?

[1] As I have noted in the past in comments I have made the mods don't even say they are mods. It's like a secret society where you have to figure it out over time or be clued in. Example dang's profile [2] doesn't say he is a mod. Even PG's profile said 'bug fixer'. [3]

Why have people infer the relationship. What's preventing anyone from coming up with a handle and the acting like a mod?

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=dang

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=pg

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a) For this one, it's just an opaque Y Combinator. A highlights post is about the highlights.

b) 'Cause we thought they were interesting. Don't you think some of these are interesting?

> Why have people infer the relationship.

'Cause It's like a secret society where you have to figure it out over time or be clued in.

> What's preventing anyone from coming up with a handle and the acting like a mod?

Nothing! It's a community site, and communities can function surprisingly well without too much ceremony.

> Don't you think some of these are interesting?

Because there is so much that someone can read it is usually helpful to have additional information so you can decide if it's worth reading.

Now I am not a Bill Gates fan in any way, and I am not saying you should go into the depth that he does, but as an example look at what he does when he recommends a book. He doesn't just say 'this is something I find interesting'.

https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Educated

> 'Cause It's like a secret society where you have to figure it out over time or be clued in.

Hah well this thinking is similar to, say, Twitter which on purpose makes things difficult for the ordinary man and the beginner. Will note that Apple took a different attitude with the iphone in 2007 and we know how that ended up.

So sure why not be more welcoming to newcomers?

> Because there is so much that someone can read it is usually helpful to have additional information so you can decide if it's worth reading.

I think the intention is for the one-line description to let the reader know what they're getting into. At some point you just have to take the plunge and read the one-or-two-paragraph comment and let the chips fall where they may.

> So sure why not be more welcoming to newcomers?

We definitely want to be welcoming! That's one reason we don't wave a big mod flag around and instead use our own language to communicate what needs to be communicated. Hacker News isn't a product like Twitter or an iPhone. It's not a fancy thing like that—we're just trying to have interesting discussions.

FYI for those who don’t know, you’re an official HN mod, per this official HN post:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12073675

(“dang” being the only other active mod that I am aware of)

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