Someone should make an extension that collapses all replies and only shows top level comments, think it might be a lot healthier for online discourse.
I'm also frequently guilty of the same thing, but this is getting out of hand...
Reddit's content quality dropped significantly the moment they deployed their mobile app, though it had been on a downward decline for a while.
I've seen HN being discussed at length on Reddit as a better alternative for "adylts", but now we see the same slow decline here.
The important questions are...
1. How can social media sites control quality of submitters.
2. What is the next site everyone over 30 is moving to and how do we stop all these teenagers from following us? /s
It's not really the same sort of experience.
It's more like a message board - which is too inefficient. Time ordered comments makes for poor content.
I'd like to see how a system where downvotes have reasons given works? Slashdot tries for upvotes.
Currently you might be downvoted for being offtopic, but you might just think it's because someone disagrees politically.
It would be an interesting overlay to create for HN
Idea might need fine tuning.
Not long ago there was a massive r/space thread with thousands of top comments about govt funding + puns and hidden down the bottom after clicking "more" was a JPL engineer who worked directly on the project linked with incredibly insightful commentary on the inner workings of the satellite. These things should be valued more and not hidden from the world.
At least the technical discussions (aside from Google evil, Apple walled garden, new Microsoft/same old Microsoft, etc. etc.) are on average higher quality than elsewhere.
All these subjects just repeat the same old arguments but just give a new set of people the opportunity to repeat them.
This has been how HN has always been, it's not more redditified on these subjects now than it was before.
And personally I would clump the Google one as an actual "movement" that is awakening which needs critical mass to actually move forward. Not only that, but there is an element of powerlessness when it comes to such a topic and repeating things helps solidify and project the opinions to a greater audience. I.e. I feel those behaviors need to be known so I'll repeat them wherever I can.
To use another analogy: We've been doing a global search and we've found a reasonably good local-optima and now we need to explore the local search space for everything we can find on the topic. If not to find a perfect solution but at least to enumerate every single piece of info and nuance we can find.
0: https://redditblog.com/2009/10/15/reddits-new-comment-sortin...
So the $174B isn't working?
Shanghai Composite, which only opened today, was ~ 3000 points on 17th Jan and now dropped to ~ 2700
So it's mostly aligned in that sense.
The Hang Seng Index is at least not dropping further (slight up as of this morning) so the liquidity news is at least 1 positive factor helping the market.
Why is quantity alone a sign of unhealthy discourse?
Other people probably find their (differing) general comments relevant even if you don’t. Let them talk it out. Tell them why you think they are off topic or off their rockers; or don’t participate. It’s your choice.
Nothing here seems particularly “broken” however.
It's not like Reddit. Your comment starts at the top, and falls after some time. Thoughtful content rises.
(Incidentally, messing with this formula is one reason why I was so vocal in the past.)