Comment by AnonC

Good for the author on stopping reading the comments on HN.

I don’t think anybody reads hundreds of comments on HN. Most people would read some top comments, collapse the comment thread, check the next comment thread, etc. If someone really wants to read all comments, they’d be better off reading HNDaily or something after a day.

I do have some serious issues with this author’s claims, allegations and sense of entitlement. So here we go with my tirade on some points. Where I’m being snarky, it’s only because I see the author’s view as one sided.

> Comments are not intrinsically bad, but the fact that nowadays anyone can leave a comment at the snap of a finger makes them less special.

The fact that nowadays anyone can put up a post online on Medium or elsewhere at the snap of a finger makes them less special.

> Just because you can hide behind online anonymity does not mean that you should find it appropriate to be rude, mean, and harassing.

News flash: banning anonymity isn’t going to make people nicer online. We’ve known that for nearly a decade and a half now on social media. Plus, the HN guidelines do allow flagging comments and alerting the mods for harassment, name calling, etc.

> Obviously, no one has time to read all those comments (if you do, please get a job). Moreover, HN does not notify users about replies to their comments, so it is your duty to always check your own comments to see if there is any activity there.

Obviously nobody has time to read the millions of articles published by people everyday (if you do, please get a job). To catch up on comments, just check HNDaily or another site where you can read through comments in a much better interface without having to worry about replying or voting. The fact that HN does not notify on replies is a feature, not a bug. I doubt if the majority here wants HN to become another Twitter or Reddit or Facebook or Instagram or what have you that wants to suck up all your attention and time. Let’s stop trying to keep up all the time!

> The crazy thing about HN comments is that they seem like a decent conversation to follow, but that often leads to addictive situations in which you read the comments instead of the article itself. It is like reading the article through the lens of people who supposedly read it.

The author complains that there are no reply notifications (which increase addiction), then complains that it’s already addictive. Ok, I get that it’s about different situations, but I visit HN to check the comments and then decide if the post is even worth my time!!! I’m sure many regular readers here do the same. Just because a small part of HN’s hive mind upvotes an article doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good or doesn’t have deep flaws.

> You can read an article written by someone who went through the difficulties I mentioned earlier and spent quite some time creating a content that he found important enough,

> …

> You can read an article that is at least somewhat cohesive and informative

> …

> The difference is that the article author went through the steps I mentioned earlier to give a better experience about his content, and the commenters did not.

These points have very little to no relation to the quality, accuracy or veracity of the content. That’s why I visit HN to check the comments and then decide if the post is even worth my time!!! And I’m also thankful for the people who take the time to comment and help me decide whether the post is worth spending my time on (and many a times even knowing what the post is about).

> At the end of the day, I believe the barrier to entry says a lot about the content. If something can be easily and quickly written by anyone (like a comment), it is often not worth reading as it could be a knee-jerk reaction to some news or some passing thought.

The same is true for a lot of articles on Medium. Pushing readers to go through the bad user experience of Medium doesn’t say much about the writer’s effort in making the writing more accessible (and with fewer or no annoyances). I would’ve been more polite if the author had chosen a less hostile platform.