[dfc]

Second best design decision: active, involved and highly visible moderator.

I think dang's efforts have made things a lot better around here. The two biggest visible changes are the title change notices and the reminders that acting like a decent human being is a prerequisite for commenting. I cheer every time I see one of the "we changed the title from X to Y" posts. I wish the reminders were not neccessary but I think they are a lot better for the community in the long run than anonymous downvotes with no explanation. I like to think of the reminders as "sit down and shut up you little twit messages" but of course dang keeps it a lot classier and also finds a way to educate the rest of the community:

  > Comments like this are not allowed on Hacker News. We ban people
  > for this, especially when they don't have a history as a positive
  > contributor here. Please don't do it again.
  >
  > All: When you see a comment that is truly egregious, you can flag
  > it by clicking "link" to go to the item page and then "flag" at the
  > top. We monitor those flags and take action based on them.