Suggest HN: Anonymise usernames between threads | Hacker News Reader

Suggest HN: Anonymise usernames between threads

10 pointssamuellevy3 comments

There's a pretty common problem of "hero-worship" that happens in many discussions on HN and in other communities. Various users tend to use the notoriety of their username as a club in discussion, and to be honest, act like pompous asses. Their opinions are held in higher regard, not because the words are thought out or relevant, but simply because people know who they are.

So my suggestion is fairly simple: for each thread, assign people a randomized hash for the conversation to show instead of a username. The hash persists for all their posts in that thread so that you can follow back-and-forth between users, and clicking on the hash will still take you to their user page, but the initial "this was said by XXXX, so it must be an important opinion" would be broken.

As the hash is still tied to the user account, hopefully people wouldn't start acting like they're fully anonymous (it's just a random, very thin mask, after all), but what they say won't be held in massively high regard just because of their username (instead of what they say actually being worthwhile).

I've no doubt that there are some 'power users' who tend to err on the side of arrogance, however there are plenty of well known users who's opinions I actively seek out simply because they are experts in their field and their insights are valuable.

Yeah, for sure, but there are also a few power users who like to make bold statements (I'm loathe to name names) which usually end up being shown to be bullshit, but still end up as the top comment of a thread.

You would still be able to see the comments from a particular user by visiting their profile and going through their comments (I know that that's not ideal), but assuming that an opinion is the right one just because of who said it is dangerous.

I'm sorry - I disagree. If you went with such a system (and especially if it was combined with the "No showing comment scores" model), then there's no context with a comment whatsoever. I like to know the user name b/c I know certain people IRL or from being here for 5+ years. Like Peroni said, I seek certain people's comments out b/c I respect their take on things.

I think that the worst part would be how such a thing would affect the "Ask HN" questions. How would you know the advice you were receiving was from a 40yo who has cashed out in 5+ ventures or from a 14yo kid who "talks a good game"? Sorry - I like that context for helping determine the good from the BS.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com