[pjc50]

> I don't even think communities retreating to Discord is a bad thing. The public internet is too small; we can't all fit in it. Private spaces might be a big net win

Yeah, I think we should not underestimate the "dark forest" aspect of the 2020s Internet. It's assumed that discoverability is a good thing, and what so many pages are optimizing for - but it isn't always. People don't want to be exposed to political witch hunts (of any faction!) or DDoS.

HN exists in a liminal space where it's hostile enough to keep the turnover down, while being comfortable enough to sustain its social existence.

(Also, people say "our reach" while at the same time the Internet remains radically individualistic - if you want there to be an "us" there has to be some sort of solidarity and governance, the total free-for-all was never sustainable except on the very margins)