[mastazi]

But sticking around doesn't solve the scenario mentioned by parent.

1. some interesting projects gets to HN main page

2. author of the project is not on HN so creates a green account and interacts

even if that person would have the patience to stick around, by the time they would be able to respond, it would be too late for it to be relevant to the (now stale) discussion.

[qingcharles]

This is one of the best things about HN. The sheer number of times someone has posted a link and the author or someone significant to the project deep within some megacorp makes a green account and starts answering questions that you never thought would get answered. Some of the most golden replies come from greenies.

[dang]

Yes, and we've always gone out of our way to protect those. It's perhaps the thing I hate the most about our software that sometimes it kills such posts.

[ddingus]

These are some of the best interactions we have here.

For sure a problem worth considering.

I can't think of anything easy...

Only even remotely sensible thought I have at present:

We add a check box to replies created by new accounts. Maybe created by all accounts?

The prompt reads something to the effect of: I am mentioned in the article. And then they get to say how.

-This is my project -I am mentioned by name -Etc...

Whatever it is they wrote, appears somehow, maybe as a required line or something.

Others can see that and either flag the account or vouch.

This at least some what distributes the required attention load.

That said, I don't like it. Have nothing better, so here it is!

Then others seeing that

[thaumasiotes]

> even if that person would have the patience to stick around, by the time they would be able to respond, it would be too late for it to be relevant to the (now stale) discussion

This is a fundamental part of how HN sees its own functioning; they refer to it as "rate limiting".