HN Explorer

Ask HN: Should there be a 'big topic' filter for days like this?

8 points by jentulman ↗ HN
This has probably been brought up before, but I couldn't find it.

I understand that 99% of the time the upvote method of reader filtering works just great, but would it be good if, very very occasionally, when there is a dominating topic such as Snowden or Aaron Swartz the mods could flag high ranked submissions as related and then either have an option to view with these stories filtered out, or for them to be pushed over to a 'big topic' page?

Obviously the up votes on submissions such as they are at the moment show a lot of people are very interested, but it feels a bit like watching a 24 hour rolling news channel right now.

I don't think anyone wants HN to start branching by topic all the time, that way the slippery slope to reddit lies, just a once on a blue moon feature for these really dominant topics.

11 comments

[ 0.23 ms ] story [ 29.0 ms ] thread
untog
I just took this screenshot:

http://i.imgur.com/sjNd5Z7.png

It seems excessive to me. Yes, Snowden is absolutely a huge news story. But the level of duplication between those different stories is staggering.

weinzierl
"But the level of duplication between those different stories is staggering."

Exactly. I don't mind multiple articles about a hot (relevant) news topic, but if the content is essentially the same it adds no value.

DanBC
It would make an excellent add-on feature for HN. You're right that it has been brought up before; I think there is actually a good filter extension for HN. I can't find a link now, but I'll keep trying.

There are other useful additions: There's a "thread folding" extension, so you can collapse sub-threads that are not interesting, for example.

One thing I'd like to see is something that highlights anything over 80 characters in the Title submission box. The combination of not being allowed to change the title too much, and not having any idea how many characters are in the title unless I count them, is a bit frustrating.

weinzierl
Maybe the ranking should consider diversity in addition to quality (upvotes). At least that is what Google does:

    Yes, that is a part of what our algorithm does: work to 
    find quality diverse results [..]
    --Matt Cutts [1]
In a sense HN does this already in that you can post a URL only once. It doesn't make sense to have the same article multiple times on the page. In the same vein it doesn't make sense to have the same content multiple times. What is "same content" is the difficulty.

[1] http://www.stonetemple.com/matt-cutts-and-eric-talk-about-wh...

brudgers
The assumption that those with administrative power over HN content are unaware of the dominance of the Snowden story and articles about the NSA is almost certainly incorrect.

The far more likely case is that they are allowing the unfolding of the story on HN's Frontpage. The practical interpretation is that this is seen as less disruptive to the HN community than trying to suppress it. An alternative interpretation is that an editorial decision that the story has vital importance has been made. Both are far more plausible than the idea that HN is run by fucking idiots.

jentulman
I wasn't trying to assert in any way that anyone was unaware of what was happening, or that anyone was a 'fucking idiot'. I was merely asking how people would feel if that content was in some way made separable when browsing top stories not suppressed from being readable.

I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know where you thought I said that because it wasn't my intent and I'll correct for clarity if needed.

brudgers
In that case, I suppose that your reasons for believing that HN moderators needed your advice were insufficiently articulated in your original post - unless your belief that they need your advice presupposes that the dominance of a single topic on the front page makes that need self-evident.

It's hard to see how you can hold onto the idea that things need to change while simultaneously asserting a belief that the moderators are aware of what is happening, without presupposing ignorance or apathy on the part of moderators - that is so long as your position precludes the possibility of the moderators simply having a different value system.

To me, it appears that your purpose in seeing how people feel, is just an emotional appeal to encourage unproductive complaining, e.g. your acknowledgement that this subject has probably been brought up many times.

There's a simple and tested way to move HN stories off the front page. Submit something better.

In my experience, meta-complaints about HN content rarely distinguish themselves as better. YMMV.

tomku
Check out "Selectivity for HN"[1]. It's manual, but situations like these are rare enough (for now...) that it's not too much of a hassle to block stories yourself. I probably would've stopped using HN if not for it - the site is basically completely dysfunctional on days like this, particularly if you don't agree with the majority views on "hacker politics" topics.

[1]: http://swapped.cc/#!/iip

jentulman
Cheers, that may well be just the ticket for a day like today.