Comment by threeducks
12 days ago
@dang Looks like astroturfing. There are several comments by users with very little history, all mentioning that they took the course before.
12 days ago
@dang Looks like astroturfing. There are several comments by users with very little history, all mentioning that they took the course before.
OK thanks. We've moved those comments (and this one) to a hidden "stub" subthread.
A reminder to everyone that the FAQ includes this:
Can I ask people to comment on my submission?
No, for the same reason. It's also not in your interest: HN readers are sensitive to this and will detect it, flag it, and use unkind words like 'spam'.
==
For all we know the Solveit guys didn't ask anyone to come and comment here, so we don't want to judge them (and they're good guys who have contributed positively to HN in the past). Sometimes people in a community – particularly an engaged and loyal one like Solveit’s seems to be – can be "too helpful" and act as though they're astroturfing, even though they're just sharing their excitement about the product and community.
The problem on HN is that it can be hard to tell the difference between authentic excitement and astroturfing.
Thanks for the assumption of good faith. We had no intent to astroturf. Some of the students from cohort one were discussing the negativity of the HN thread on the course discord server. It seems that several took it upon themselves to come share their experience. From the comments whose names I recognize, I can assure that these are all real people who have first-hand knowledge of what they're posting about.
Solveit community is so nice and wholesome that I see many comments being dismissed as astroturfing, well maybe HN is not used to this but I can tell you all the people in there are for real.
You can take my case, I started writing and posting videos after taking the solveIT course because you are encouraged to do so. Many people on the community have started to do so, and that's why they might not have much of a history yet.
Moreover, the course is such a good experience that when there's a chance to share it publicly and invite more people to it (after a year of private beta), members go out of their way (into HN) to try to invite more people.
I have seen all the people you mention in the discord and chat with some of them so I can tell you they are real.
Because once again, my comment might sound like astroturfing, you can have a look at my youtube & X where I've been posting about this stuff for quite a while
www.youtube.com/@polavec7163 x.com/pol_avec
May I also add that the SolveIt Discord hosts a very welcoming community. Not all are.