HN Explorer

Ask HN: Where can I have good, technical discussion on random topics?

9 points by server_man3000 ↗ HN
Stack exchange usually bans random discussion and Reddit is usually pretty service level.

I have had some decent conversation on HN, but the medium is semi poor for convo.

I’m wanting to get into studying DB implementation, btree optimizations, parsers, etc. Whats a good place for hackers to just passionately chat and learn from each other?

Open source is cool, but I’m speaking more generally

12 comments

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layer8
Usenet used to be that. I'd be interested as well. For specific areas, you might be able to find a mailing list (often in the academic sphere). For PL/type theory there's http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/forum/1.
matheusmoreira
Any forum frequented by the hackers whose existence non-hackers have yet to discover. Mailing lists seem to be a good example: they're hard enough to use that non-hackers are filtered out. I'm a programmer and I was nearly filtered out myself.
server_man3000
It’s a good point. I was on a niche Apache mailing list for a bit and of course I’m talking to the world experts about some niche serialization format from the creator himself et al.

I’m curious if they resent random questions though. For example, if I’m asking Linus about btrees he’s probably going to tell me to fuck off

matheusmoreira
> from the creator himself

This happens here on HN. Examples:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34180239

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24455758

> if I’m asking Linus about btrees he’s probably going to tell me to fuck off

That's the thing, you know? It's a very unequal world out there. I have many gaps in my knowledge due to lack of formal computer science and engineering education. While I'd very much like to participate, sometimes I feel like it'd be a waste of other people's time to answer my dumb questions. I really don't want to be a help vampire.

ChatGPT turned out to be a great solution to this problem.

fgeahfeaha
I found that if you follow a bunch of people on twitter who specialize in a niche topic you'll see a lot of casual interesting conversations there

But the problem is that you can't start new discussions or ask a question unless those people follow you back because no one will see/reply to your tweets

lusus_naturae
Great question, I am wondering what other mediums anyone else is using, e.g., irc, slack, niche-topic discord, or weekly zooms. I have had taste of all of these, but I am yet to find something I can think completely satisfies. I know some local area hacker groups have slacks (but anyone can join them), and open-source projects or particularly niche projects have active discord servers/their own forums. Tbf, I mainly browse or lurk most places, or use HN for shitposting so I am not that well-versed.

Edit to add: you may also find that some mastodon servers are particularly suited for some topic you're interested in.

cpach
Why not start such a space online?

IMHO chat is best for this. E.g. Slack or Discord. Or if you prefer open source solutions then Matrix, IRC, Mattermost or Zulip.

You will need a critical mass, so I would try to aim for around 400-800 members or so. (Usually most people lurk so I wouldn’t aim for a too low number.)

Best of luck!

gardenhedge
How is HN "semi poor" but you seem to imply Reddit would be good if it weren't service level?
server_man3000
Mostly the format. It takes more than just people. HN is comments, you don’t get notified and it’s not a typical forum.

I love HN, but I’m looking for more suitable mediums for such discussion

bjourne
This is what friends are for.