Hacker News Reader

Comment by globalise83 | Hacker News Reader

Have you tried n8n? It allows you to build flows like that - you can run the community version in a Docker container within a few minutes and share the configurations for the flows you have built very easily.

View on HN

_#_ has to be one of the worst word shortening schemes I've ever seen get widespread. It only works with a very small number of long-lived technologies, in which case they basically just get a nickname, "k8s" "i18n". It does not at all work for larger contexts. You're basically making someone solve a crossword (2 across, 10 letters with two filled in) just to parse your sentence.

I just googled it and it looks like “n8n” is the name of the service. The op wasn’t abbreviating anything so I don’t think it’s the same phenomenon as what you’re describing.

Well, the service is doing the same thing though. The part I don't understand is that I assume n8n is short for "Nation" but literally every single person I've seen talk about it on YouTube (which is quite a lot) say "En Eight En" every time.

nation is too short for 8 - maybe navigation?

Looks like n8n is short for nodemation

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Techno-flagellation is the only way to atone

So the 8 stands for "odematio"? That sounds about right.

https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n?tab=readme-ov-file#what-does-n...

It's just another form of any other jargon - unknown until you know it, and usually specific to the use case. I see k8s and i18n or a11y and I know exactly what they mean because at some point I learned it and it's part of the world I live in. Searching for stuff is how we learn, not solving crosswords.

Right, my complaint is that it only works like jargon, where you are just giving something a context-specific nickname. As a word shortening scheme, it's terrible. A world where many projects have names like s11g is a nightmare.

I kind of get k8s and can live with i18n (at least it's a long word). But a11y just shouldn't exist. "Oh look, it looks like ally, what a cute play on words". Yeah, but for a dumb joke and 9 saved keystrokes you literally made the word accessibility less accessible. That's exactly the opposite of what accessibility is about

No it's not just part of the world and it's fatality we have to live with like gravity. Abbreviation can in rare occasion have a net benefit, but only in very narrow highly unusual context do they bring any general benefit. Most often than not it just obfuscate the message for new comers, making artificial entry barrier higher.

The app is actually called n8n - https://n8n.io/

I had not, but that looks awesome. Microsoft put out something called "agent flows" that also fits this category.[1] I'm working on more of an "at home" version - no "talk to sales" button.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/blog/copil...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com