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Comment by bane | Hacker News Reader

Absolutely agree on these guidelines. It takes a lot of bravery to put yourself out there in public. It should take just as much class to offer advice and constructive criticism instead of tearing somebody else's work down.

edit also, is it just me or is the front page plastered with Show HN links? Does anybody else think that's awesome?

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Am I the only one who thinks it isn't awesome? As someone who comes to HN for news, I really don't want to see any Shown HN on the front page. Certainly not half the front page filled with them.

What is "news"? Show HN is arguably, in many cases, the newest thing. Techcrunch, Wired, et al, are just corporate or mainstream news (not that there aren't other interesting posts that also aren't news on HN). I think many people come here to learn, new or not.

No, I agree with you. I come here for news and occasional projects and now it's 70% Show HN.

It'll settle down. Never judge HN by one day or even a few—the status quo ante is more stable than that. Genuine long-term changes here are more subtle. (Which is actually a challenge, but that's another story.)

Before this feature, users had to search manually. Now it's easier to find. This just reflects the content we've wanted.

It's not just you, and I agree that it's awesome. I hope that trend continues, it might be the push HN needed to bounce back from becoming slashdot, going back to its roots as a news site by and for entrepreneurs. With which I don't mean that HN should be 100% 'Show HN' posts, but more that HN should be generated by the sort of people who appreciate Show HN posts.

I've always wished that the front page had 1 or 2 "Show HN" and 1 or 2 "Ask HN" posts on the front page. Removing them faster off the front page has puzzled me for years.

Almost makes me wonder if there should be a karma requirement to comment on Show HN posts. I hate restrictions generally speaking, and I don't know if it's safe to assume longer tenured members inherently have more class when offering feedback.

>I don't know if it's safe to assume longer tenured members inherently have more class when offering feedback.

I don't think it is. If anything, tenured members may feel more entitled to be rude without consequences. Karma isn't really a measure of civility so much as popularity over time, and it doesn't really communicate any context. Also, if there were a minimum for commenting, there should be a minimum for posting, which might leave new users with interesting projects out.

> Also, if there were a minimum for commenting, there should be a minimum for posting, which might leave new users with interesting projects out.

I don't get that implication. The commenters, if seen as offering mentorship, should necessarily be more experienced than the people they're trying to help. Otherwise, what's the point?

If karma is a valid measure of poster quality then surely it's just as important to ensure a higher standard for posts as well as comments. If, on the other hand, karma doesn't indicate experience in anything other than getting karma, then it's irrelevant either way. I happen to believe the latter is more true than the former.

I like to repeat this fact whenever it's relevant: In my two or three years now on HN, the most upvotes I've ever got were all on scornful comments (towards a single company). It didn't make me or others any wiser, though I still got 'karma' points.

Yes, but experience in the project domain(s). Which doesn't correlate with experience using HN. Not even for $tech_du_jour_popular_on_HN.

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