Hacker News Reader

DanParsonon Ask HN: Why HN doesn't use target blank for urls to open?

To leave the choice up to the user. There's technologically no reason for HN to force external links to open in a new tab/window. https://css-tricks.com/use-target_blank/

DanParsonon Ask HN: When you are drunk and take a self-driving car home, can you get a DUI?

Currently, yes.

Right now, laws still require a driver to be "in control" of the vehicle, usually meaning someone in the driver's seat, ready to take control when needed. Even if you never needed to take active control of the vehicle, you would still be unable to if the situation did arise. The "in control" part is how you can be arrested for DUI even if you're in a stopped car while intoxicated.

In the future, when self-driving cars get to the point of not needing someone in the driver's seat, the law will likely still require someone to be "responsible" for the car. In other words, similar to now, someone that could take over control in an emergency and would be held responsible for the car's actions. As is said in the thought-provoking I, Robot movie, "...a robot cannot be charged with homicide.... murder can only be committed when one human kills another".

DanParsonon Ask HN: What is your current Linux distro and why did you choose it?

Kubuntu. It offered the best out-of-the-box compatibility with the programs I use, and it's not at the center of a desktop environment debate.

DanParsonon Top 5 Fascinating Books on Languages and Linguistics

If you want to take your interest further, you can venture into the world of constructed languages, which is basically applied linguistics. Arika Okrent's In the Land of Invented Languages is a great book about conlangs in general, and David Peterson's The Art of Invented Languages focuses on conlangs in movies and TV.