HN Explorer

Ask HN: Am I the only one who finds HN's interface user unfriendly?

12 points by iwonagr ↗ HN
One comes in and immediately sees a lot of text that is not pleasant. If someone is a programmer they probably are tired of seeing a screen full of letters.

Same with the functionality. It just takes too much time to figure it all out.

Can someone help me figure out how to use HN in a way it's beneficial for the HN community and myself? I guess I don't understand it well. I do not see how I can benefit from browsing through all those topics that are not categorized to find anything that is of my interest. Similarly, if I can post just anything, how will that help any user?

Why are you guys here? (this is a genuine question, I'd like to understand more of how this all works)

21 comments

[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 63.7 ms ] thread
iwonagr
Oh and one more...how do I ask an HN question in the 'ask' section?
cognitvesystem
its automatically occur, by the way what is your interest?
iwonagr
business, entrepreneurship, startups, technology and solutions for startups (I am not a tech person so I have to educate myself on new trends and how it all works to better understand my team), self-development (in terms of entering the tech & startup community), branding & marketing, networking & relationship building.

These would be the categories I'd come to HN for. And I just clicked on a topic and was redirected to National Geographic.

I am a marathoner so my other interests include anything related to running, training, etc. but for those I go to e.g. RunnersWorld... so for my brain it's a little bit confusing why on something that's called HACKER news one would post things about...nature (inspiration?- "Let's build an app that would prevent animal poaching"?)

ColinWright 

    > it's a little bit confusing why on something
    > that's called HACKER news one would post things 
    > about ... nature
So, have you read the FAQ[0]? From there, have you read the guidelines[1]? From the guidelines did you see this:

    What to Submit

    On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting.
              That includes more than hacking and startups. If you
              had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be:
              anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

iwonagr
Hey Colin,

It still does not answer my question "Why" although I have just realized that HN is someone else's idea and they structured it they way they wanted, not the way "I" would like it to be.

If someone finds it beneficial, then fine. The only thing I am concerned is that if I wanted to apply to YC I'd need be active here. And if that is what motivates users to post here then they'd post just anything to get noticed. Anything is not good. Good quality information is good. As a startup founder I value time more than anything hence I'd rather spend time working on my product than on trying to get noticed on HN or brush through so many articles (of different value). But it's just me. Maybe I am wrong....

ColinWright 

  > ... if I wanted to apply to YC I'd
  > need be active here.
I'm not associated with YC so my answer is not definitive, but if you wanted to apply for YC then I can imagine that you should have something running and submit links to it here. The feedback you'd get would be valuable, so this is a resource for you to mine in getting something running. That would then make you active.

  > As a startup founder I value time more
  > than anything hence I'd rather spend time
  > working on my product than on trying to
  > get noticed on HN ...
Then go build something, then submit it. Stop worrying about "what HN is for" and just go build stuff. Then come back and get feedback. People here are interested in more than just startups, so you'll get tech-savvy people with a broad range of interests commenting on what you've done.

That's what HN is for.

iwonagr
Building.

Well, I am wondering what HN "is for". People talk about it. People say it's good to use but I couldn't see it myself. I would love to engage but in a way that is beneficial for the community and myself as I mentioned. I am playing a devil's advocate a little in order to learn.

It's not that I am criticizing. I am just trying to better understand.

Thanks!

dang
You don't need to be active on HN to get into YC, so don't worry about that.

HN's purpose is to find and discuss stories that gratify intellectual curiosity. So to decide whether HN is for you, simply browse the front page for a few days and see if any stories there interest you. If they do, then there's a good chance you share interests with other people here.

The text-based design is on purpose. It focuses on the content and doesn't try to appeal to everybody. It's true, though, that HN can seem cryptic to new visitors. One needs to hang around long enough to let one's eyes adjust. I hope you'll do that before reaching a final verdict.

If you'd like to read more about the thinking behind HN, try:

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html

https://news.ycombinator.com/hackernews.html

http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html

iwonagr
Hi Dang! Thanks a lot for your insight. Well, in the application guidelines for YC there is a passage saying that if the reviewer "knows" you from HN he/she may give your application a little more consideration.

I don't give up on anything before I understand the concept. Only after I know how something works do I decide to use it or not.

Many things interest me so I think I'll stick around. Moreover, those conversations are great. I love exchanging opinions and HN seems to be the place where 'great minds discuss ideas'.

Thanks for the links!

ColinWright
Any submission without a link - such as this one - gets into the "Ask" section if it gets enough upvotes. It's like getting to the front page - enough people need to declare it interesting (via their upvote) for it to get there.

Even though I disagree with a lot of what you say, I've upvoted you so you get to the "Ask" section.

starshadowx2
Yeah, I had to Google how to find out how to do this, it doesn't seem to be written anywhere.
iwonagr
There is a FAQ section at the bottom that has a lot of information. Don't worry though- I didn't see it either. It takes a little time to figure out how this all works here :) Thanks to Colin I have a better vision.
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ColinWright
To me, the interface suits the purpose perfectly. There are many discussions about tagging and categories, but having the single "all in" front page is intended to prevent fragmentation and broadly keep a single community.

    > One comes in and immediately sees
    > a lot of text that is not pleasant.
To me it's a delight to find a site that's clean and clear, without swathes of pointless graphics, or icons and buttons that I don't understand.

    > Same with the functionality. It just
    > takes too much time to figure it all
    > out.
Really? You submit, you reply, you click on a link to read a story. What are you finding difficult?

    > Can someone help me figure out how to
    > use HN in a way it's beneficial for the
    > HN community and myself?
Read stuff people have submitted. If you think it's interesting and have something constructive to add, make a comment, or join the discussion. What else are you expecting?

    > I do not see how I can benefit from
    > browsing through all those topics that
    > are not categorized to find anything
    > that is of my interest.
If all you're interested in are you own specific narrow interests, then go find the appropriate sub-reddit or similar. This is for people who want to get at least a little outside their own echo-chamber and see things that others are interested in. There are people here with whom I share interests, and then they have interests outside my own, and this is where I get to find things about those other interests. If people with whom I have something in common are interested in them, maybe it's something I should know about.

HN is intended to help you grow outside your own, specific interests. If you don't want to do that, this isn't the best place for you.

narrowrail
1. Start Up 2. Cash In 3. Sell Out 4. Bro Down
veddox
> If someone is a programmer they probably are tired of seeing a screen full of letters.

Actually, as a (Linux) programmer I feel right at home with a plain text design... Minimalism suggests efficiency, and is part of the Unix tradition. Although I like well-designed pages, HN is about content, not looks. To quote PG: "The graphic design is as plain as possible ... The goal is that the only thing to interest someone arriving at HN for the first time should be the ideas expressed there." (http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html)

Quite apart from that, it is one of the few sites left on the Internet that is friendly all those without a cheap, high-speed connection. One HN page takes about 10KB, that is a real plus in some parts of the world (like where I am at the moment).

I do not find the functionality in any way difficult.

I joined this site recently because it seems to be a great community of people with similar interests, and a brilliant place to learn new stuff.

dang
PG has said that his inspiration for the design of HN was top, the Unix utility.

I'm glad to hear something nice about the performance of the site. That is my bugbear. One day I shall wrestle it to the mat.

JoeAltmaier
What else? An infographic? Sounds like a Designer complaint.
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ggchappell
> One comes in and immediately sees a lot of text that is not pleasant.

What do you want to see? (Not a rhetorical question!)

I come here to read articles, read comments, and then possibly reply. The interface allows me to start doing each of those with one click. Looks great to me. If the interface showed me something else, then that something else would be just one extra step to get through before I got to do what I wanted.

kishoridu
It is like a green tea. Initially looks unfriendly but once you develop the taste you will enjoy it.