Are people misusing the system as in do they add all tags available to get more traffic? I saw one who added these tags to one link: "assembly c compsci go java lisp lua php python scala"
The more tags post has, the less people will see it because users have an option to hide posts with certain tags. And of course moderators are there to adjust the tags if necessary.
The site is pretty much dead anyways. Note how there is only one story on the frontpage atm with a single comment. But the code is somewhere in github if you want to make your own.
I traditionally come here for the non-technical stuff so it'd be a great way to get specific. Otherwise, there are news sites which allow the user to deselect certain subject matter and leave the rest. Also an option.
I think there's something to this - there's a plethora of websites sprouting up using the 'Hacker News for ___'. The semi-casual-professional platform makes sense for most industries.
I work in arts/film, and although it probably wouldn't work for us, I'd love to see it done.
I'm running http://www.trejdify.com/ which is like HN but with business news only, and I have a modified spam-filter that sorts the articles automatically in the different categories. Maybe HN needs something similar?
And yet, it's a forum and to a degree, also a link aggregator. If it's only purpose was to promote YC, only YC members would have accounts, but people already discuss all kinds of things here, not all of which directly relate to Y Combinator.
People keep complaining as the site grows that the content no longer reflects their particular views. To me, there are two possible solutions to this, or three, if you count "just ignore it": enforcing a more narrow definition of what can and can't be posted, or else smarter filtering of content.
I agree. But, the purpose is to promote YC. It may have started as something else, but this website is more powerful than a lot of big name news outlets. Money is made here, believe it or not. That is why a change in the formula is not something that may happen. Why change something that is already helping YC make lots of money?
I can certainly see how, if it's working, they might not want to 'fix' it. But... users who feel better served by the content they get here might be more inclined to stick around, participate, become involved and eventually apply. Each of these "hacker news for x" sites that pop up are clearly attempts to exploit what appear to be gaps in what Hacker News provides, and maybe by extension they're taking a bit of the focus off YCombinator itself. Apps like hnnotify are providing functionality that could be added to the site.
Just because it happens to be making money now doesn't necessarily mean some aspect of the design isn't keeping them from making even more money.
The morphology of the site must in some way shape the interaction between users, and by extension the way they perceive the community as a whole. Different decisions both in policy and in design would lead to at least subtle differences in what Hacker News is.
But i'm not confident that adding a feature to organize the posts a bit more necessarily undermines something fundamental about the nature of HN. Nor do I think the only thing keeping this place civil is pg keeping his thumb on the ban button.
In one of your scripts you appear to be missing an end bracket "}" - also there's no real reason to have them in separate script tags that i'm aware of although i'm just being nitpicky at that point.
thanks! thank you for the kind words! and as far as typo is concerned we're going to fix it asap, just not now.. we have 250 active visitors right now :)
I'm really sorry that makernews does not have a "lame" layout like hackernews. On hackernews I can scan for interesting articles really really fast, on makernews it's SLOW. Also the design elements while cute might not appeal to the more hardcore maker crowd.
I completely agree. One of the main things I like about HN's simplistic style, is that within a few seconds I can scan a dozen or so entries and filter out what I'm going to look through.
On HackerNews main page, I can see the top 24 links without scrolling. On MakerNews I see 8.
The drawings on the side are nice, but it's the first thing I see when coming on the page. I need to self consciously blind the side of the page to focus on the content.
- Color. Make it dark. Light blue on a white background is very hard to read.
- Font size: Too big. Look at HN.
Layout:
- Reduce the padding in between entries. HN is easy to scan because everything is neatly packed. You only need to scroll a little to see the rest.
- The header is too big. Kept it simple with a little logo. The focus here is the content, not branding. The tweet button should go in the bottom of the page.
- The footer is nice, but a bit too big.
- The subscription form is in the way of the "More News" link. Also, a lot of people in your target market refrain from giving their name along with their email.
oh and the newsletter subscribe box is not showing up correctly on firefox. I hope you don't think I'm bashing the project. I criticize because I care :)
Am I the only person who really hates the term "maker"? It's awful, generic and self-aggrandizing.
"Hacker" is a great term because it's fairly specific (you're working to alter something/make something work) and it's self-deprecating ("I'm just hacking away at it.").
Since you asked (but not really)...I've actually always thought the term hacker sounded silly especially when spoken. Not sure what else I would go with but something about it feels cheesy and self-involved.
Went to Maker Faire NYC this weekend. Feel the same about the term.
It should have been called 3D Printer Faire. If not that, then Kit-maker Faire. There was less "making" on display than at a typical arts and crafts festival, and much more commercialization of RTA kits than I'd expected.
Also, I feel like Rasberry Pi should only come after Arduino which should only come after one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Radio-Shack-CK1000-Basic-Electronic-.... (Not the 150 in one project kits, actual components.) Start with hacking things from sensors and transistors before programming chips.
As an example, on the linked "maker news" site, the home page currently has a headline about flickering a household bulb like a candle with Arduino, http://flowcon.us/td/hwmach/. This doesn't need a chip. You could do it a variety of ways with the components above.
> "Hacker" is a great term because it's fairly specific
Funny thing. I think "maker" is far more specific term than "hacker". Maker == a person who makes stuff, hacker == a person who is somehow in touch with tech.
You're not the only person. It very much aggrivates me. These things that so called 'makers' do, that is, to make stuff, is what untold numbers, from all countries and cultures, have been doing forever. But now some feel the need to form a sham group and proselytize.
It's similar to other group-consumption movements such as the Juggalos, aligning itself with a selection of products, fashion styles, and symbols. Some makers even proudly have themselves tattooed with these symbols.
There are many of these group-consumption movements, but this one is particulary irritating for the promotion of its own idiom onto territory that belongs to everone. One hates being told that an activity in which they have always partook in their own individual manner is now the domain of a new higher authority on the matter.
In order to read this website, are you supposed to 3D-print yourself some special glasses that render light blue text on white legible? Is that the secret handshake?
In your background image, the screws at the top are threaded anticlockwise, but have a clockwise rotation arrow. Vice versa for the screw at the bottom by the robot head.
62 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 134 ms ] thread[1] https://lobste.rs/
Unfortunately it's invite only.. To each their own.
I've thought about doing something similar with the metadata of posted urls but obviously that might be ridiculously easy to game.
People keep complaining as the site grows that the content no longer reflects their particular views. To me, there are two possible solutions to this, or three, if you count "just ignore it": enforcing a more narrow definition of what can and can't be posted, or else smarter filtering of content.
Just because it happens to be making money now doesn't necessarily mean some aspect of the design isn't keeping them from making even more money.
The morphology of the site must in some way shape the interaction between users, and by extension the way they perceive the community as a whole. Different decisions both in policy and in design would lead to at least subtle differences in what Hacker News is.
But i'm not confident that adding a feature to organize the posts a bit more necessarily undermines something fundamental about the nature of HN. Nor do I think the only thing keeping this place civil is pg keeping his thumb on the ban button.
It looks nice - I like the graphics.
http://news.makerland.org/rss/ http://news.makerland.org/atom/
PS: I am not your target audience.
On HackerNews main page, I can see the top 24 links without scrolling. On MakerNews I see 8.
The drawings on the side are nice, but it's the first thing I see when coming on the page. I need to self consciously blind the side of the page to focus on the content.
- Color. Make it dark. Light blue on a white background is very hard to read.
- Font size: Too big. Look at HN.
Layout:
- Reduce the padding in between entries. HN is easy to scan because everything is neatly packed. You only need to scroll a little to see the rest.
- The header is too big. Kept it simple with a little logo. The focus here is the content, not branding. The tweet button should go in the bottom of the page.
- The footer is nice, but a bit too big.
- The subscription form is in the way of the "More News" link. Also, a lot of people in your target market refrain from giving their name along with their email.
"Hacker" is a great term because it's fairly specific (you're working to alter something/make something work) and it's self-deprecating ("I'm just hacking away at it.").
But I agree that in general the term 'maker' has become very overused to be point of not meaning anything at all.
It should have been called 3D Printer Faire. If not that, then Kit-maker Faire. There was less "making" on display than at a typical arts and crafts festival, and much more commercialization of RTA kits than I'd expected.
Also, I feel like Rasberry Pi should only come after Arduino which should only come after one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Radio-Shack-CK1000-Basic-Electronic-.... (Not the 150 in one project kits, actual components.) Start with hacking things from sensors and transistors before programming chips.
As an example, on the linked "maker news" site, the home page currently has a headline about flickering a household bulb like a candle with Arduino, http://flowcon.us/td/hwmach/. This doesn't need a chip. You could do it a variety of ways with the components above.
Funny thing. I think "maker" is far more specific term than "hacker". Maker == a person who makes stuff, hacker == a person who is somehow in touch with tech.
It's similar to other group-consumption movements such as the Juggalos, aligning itself with a selection of products, fashion styles, and symbols. Some makers even proudly have themselves tattooed with these symbols.
There are many of these group-consumption movements, but this one is particulary irritating for the promotion of its own idiom onto territory that belongs to everone. One hates being told that an activity in which they have always partook in their own individual manner is now the domain of a new higher authority on the matter.
Edit: Nevermind, just saw its going to be added tomorrow
http://news.makerland.org/rss/ http://news.makerland.org/atom/