I would also like to have longer lived threads, and that users actually discussed, read each others comments, and reply
We need notifications for replies !
So far, posts get posted, end up on the main page, get 300 comments at once from different users, then fall into oblivion. All of that within a few hours
Agree. It’s hard to have a conversation here, but I don’t know exactly why. I suggested once that if usernames were just bolder it would make a difference. Avatars seem like fluff, but I think they really do make it easier to spot a familiar “face”.
Oh, also… I do check “threads” sometimes if I want to keep up with a conversation.
The difficulty in having conversations reduces the tendency for people to get caught up in the cycle of reactive response. Were to introduce response notification, the engagement metrics would rise, but so would the number of fights. Given that HN isn't incentivized to increase engagement to sell ads, posing such an impediment isn't clearly tied to a dollar valued opportunity cost and therefore easier to swallow.
Right, I'm comparing the design effects of different social media platforms, while you're looking at HN over time. We're not really talking about the same things.
I think we are talking about the same things. I'm claiming the design being discussed doesn't have the effect you believe it does, with the growth of contentious threads being evidence to the contrary.
When this happens, you can still reply by clicking the timestamp above the post. The reply button will also appear after a while, the system just wants you to slow down.
i wonder if 'slow' notifications might be a good sweet spot. instead of notifying you about a reply instantly it could send a summary of replies once or twice a day
To me, the nested format of comments is the issue. In a flat format like a forum, people are forced to stay on a main line of conversation, with occasional tangents using quotes or new threads. In the HN style, everyone peels away into their own little side discussions, which themselves generate side discussions. It's almost like socialization at a party, and it's encouraged by the heirarchical structure. A detailed one-on-one conversation rapidly runs off to the right side, which discourages it.
Hacker News has a weird cultural dissonance where it's designed to encourage tangential conversations as you mention, but also has numerous features designed to discourage engagement and casual style for the sake of maintaining quality and avoiding the Eternal September effect. It wants to be a water cooler or a pub where people discuss interesting things, but no one polices the conversations in a pub or around a water cooler for topicality, novelty or substance.
It really should use a flat format to that end, but it's written in a lisp, so not having it render a tree view is probably sacrilege.
One of the things I like most about HN is there is not, to my knowledge, any "social" features like this. As mentioned by other comments there are possibly third party UIs/clients that offer a similar feature set. Easiest solution that comes to mind is writing down a username and just checking in when desired.
Coming back to this randomly - some folks put their contact information in their bios. Not my style but there probably are better formats for long discussion. Plus the HN indentation on long threads is slightly callback hellish
What is the difference between following and just going to their submissions & comments pages? Are you looking for a notification when a person adds something new, a "feed" of the latest from your followees?
Given the post here a few weeks ago about tracking people through writing style I actually wonder what the point of usernames is.
Maybe it should be possible to have a username so people can activity follow you and see other submissions?
And maybe it would be nice if each time you posted it generated a unique username so that it's anonymous? You could still keep e-mail registration/verification. And perhaps still give moderators access to the master accounts in case they need to see if a user is constantly promoting a company or constantly engaging in anti-social commenting.
We need notifications for replies !
So far, posts get posted, end up on the main page, get 300 comments at once from different users, then fall into oblivion. All of that within a few hours