Aligns pretty well with my interests. I wish it was a little more social. Also, it's difficult sometimes to contact other users about something they submitted.
Quality of content. If I want quantity, I go to Reddit.
And by quality, I don't just mean articles... there are some excellent critiques and well thought out discussions here. People will actually discuss things in a respectful manner even if they differ on opinion. (Relative to other sites)
I second this! The value of HN is in its users and community. It amazes me how some very toxic subjects are actually reasonably (to a degree) discussed here.
I also really like that the user base, for the most part, requires statements to be backed up by facts and sources. That is something I don't see often enough on the web.
Same as others said, decent posts here. Like Reddit, just for tech. I do wish it would live up to the name "hacker news' and post more IT security related articles, a vast majority of all submissions have to do with coding.
Wisdom of the user base. There are many topics - some not even necessarily related to programming that I will do a "search term site:news.ycombinator.com" Google query on if I want to find some really great information and insight.
Solid discussions. I learn much more from the random comment here and there than from the articles. Not all comments are like this, but a very high percentage compared with other discussion forums.
The best comments are sometimes tangential and sometimes may not get upvotes, but they offer a perspective that I had not considered.
It's even more fun to share an opinions from outside that bubble and they're forced to actually have actual discussion about it (because that's how this site works) rather than just name calling and down-voting.
It's the best community surrounding general tech discussion _as well as_ its impact on society that I know. It isn't overrun by trolls. And it has a simple, clean UI with no infinite scroll, and even has noprocrast in an age when most sites are desperate for as many minutes of your life as they can take.
+ It's a decent, 'curated' selection of usually non-political topics.
+ Most comments made by people on the internet are ridiculous, emotional, uninformative rants. On HN, people seem to be smart enough to make informed points.
Useful information, and then informed comments about it. The comments might inform me that what looks to me like a good idea has pitfalls; they might propose similar products with advantages or better suited to my need; or they might articulate a position, held by a large group, that I hadn't considered.
It's my primary source of tech - news, actual code to browse, new things to play with in downtime. I keep my skills sharp by coding and I keep my knowledge sharp by visiting HN probably too many times a day
Edit: As to why here over other places - there's rarely any pun chains. Nothing puts me off a discussion more than pun chains
65 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 195 ms ] threadIf they do, there's the 'About' field in the profile they can set with appropriate contact information.
And by quality, I don't just mean articles... there are some excellent critiques and well thought out discussions here. People will actually discuss things in a respectful manner even if they differ on opinion. (Relative to other sites)
I also really like that the user base, for the most part, requires statements to be backed up by facts and sources. That is something I don't see often enough on the web.
edit: spelling
Probably
The best comments are sometimes tangential and sometimes may not get upvotes, but they offer a perspective that I had not considered.
I'm looking at you TheVerge/Recode/Reddit.
Do you mean IT, or really tech in general?
For example, I don't see that many posts here about biotech.
It's apparently enough of a draw to have me lurking on this place nearly daily for almost 10(!!) years.
+ Most comments made by people on the internet are ridiculous, emotional, uninformative rants. On HN, people seem to be smart enough to make informed points.
Edit: As to why here over other places - there's rarely any pun chains. Nothing puts me off a discussion more than pun chains
I can read opinions about issues I have thought about and cared about and get a new perspective.
I can get annoyed because someone wrote something wonderful and then a bunch of people nit pick it to death.