This is exactly one of the problems. People downvote because it is how they feel not because there is any logic to it. Unless the negative points reaches threshold, it is suspect. Downvoting should also consist of a comment as to why. When a professor marks your paper wrong, does he not place things on it like "W.C." and so on? How are people supposed to learn from their mistakes if they think what they wrote was reasonable yet some HN user comes along, misunderstands what was written, and just votes it down?
I downvoted you because you quickly played the "personal attack" card in the same breath as you laid all the blame for what you perceive as a slide in HN quality at the feet of those who upvote different stories than you would -- which amounts to a personal attack. The obvious loop in your argument makes your comment uninteresting.
That doesn't sound like "Hacker News" at all. That sounds like "Startup News". Why are people building websites the only ones you find helpful? Why are academic subjects bad?
I agree that there are more than a few links that don't interest me, but that doesn't mean I throw up my arms and say, "Well, that's it! This site has jumped the shark!"
a community made exclusively of people actually building websites
Do you actually believe that "Startups" and "Hackers" ONLY build websites?
Assuming that you yourself "actually build websites", this seems like a good project to take on. The HN code is open source, it would be neat to see someone make an adaption of HN that fits the spirit of what they believe the site should be about.
I'd be very curious to see what the community and activity level around such a site would look like.
I think you're just at the wrong site. A community made exclusively of people building websites would exclude a lot of smart and interesting people. That's only a small subset of hackers, even in the narrow sense of the word.
In the end, what it comes down to is that you want something (which I also want, except for limiting new members) which is personalized. I couldn't agree more. HN is too general. There needs to be a way to customize, and only a client-side script won't do.
Please do not make this a personal attack on me, one member of the community.
I argue that submitting nothing is better than submitting garbage links. Additionally, I am not bringing the site down by voting up egregious headlines.
I think what kyro is trying to say is, if you don't like what you see on HN - why not submit the type of articles you'd like to see, hopefully starting a trend?
imho it doesn't help that your post sounds more like whiny bitching than constructive criticism
but look at the behavior of the community right now. The highest voted comment on this post is basically a "screw you dude" and all of my responses are downvoted without any reasons given.
Below in comments I stated what I personally would like to see change, but that too is downvoted without explanation.
These reactions are reinforcing my original point: Though many precautions were taken, Hacker News is no more immune to large group behavior than were Digg and Reddit. The community has reached a tipping point.
You essentially just called a community stupid. When provoked with such nonconstructive criticism, I'm not sure why you would expect said community to respond with anything but "No, you're stupid."
Careful though - All the time spent researching / cooking / perfecting this food may eat into your ramen profitability.
I recently took up cooking and if you get serious, it gets expensive, specifically in the following ways:
1) Stocking up - Initially buying spices ($4 each), pots, pans, trays (a decent set will run you $400), a good knife($80) which you will eventually need, other staples ($a bunch)
2) Experimenting - You'll get stuff wrong a lot. You'll ruin food. You'll buy more food. Sometimes it's expensive food like steak.
3) Showing Off - When you figure out you can cook something that is noticeably better than rubber, you'll want to cook for your friends. They will like the food and thank you, but they won't always remember to leave cash behind.
4) No more junk food - Cooking the good stuff makes you appreciate good food, and by appreciate I mean spend more money on.
I find cooking to be a lot like programming. There are tons of options and methodologies and evangelists and opinions, but when it comes down it, the thrill of creating something (even something palatable only to you) is unbeatable.
For buying food check out local salvage food stores. I've worked a tiny bit at one, and my mom uses them a lot. You can save a lot on high quality food.
Don't let the name scare you off, salvage just means that other shipments are better suited to retail. The reasons the retail grocery store sent back the shipment range from cans being dented to one jar being in the same box as a broken jar and getting water damage on the label. Or the food could be nearing its expiration date.
Since the food is being returned to the warehouse, some bad food occasionally slips through. But most stores are very good about checking for expired or bad food, and nearly all problems with food quality are very obvious as long as you check the date.
Food quality can be very good. If it is being run as a health food store, you'll basically be getting some of the food from places like Trader Joe's and Wild Oats for bargain prices. The stores are also good if you want to buy bulk ingredients. Variety is usually good, but selection isn't. Since the stores are at the mercy of other stores for their produce, you can't expect to find a specific brand in a store at a specific time. And you also can't really expect to find a product in the store just because you had previously bought it.
Salvage stores might not be for everyone, but they can save you a lot of money on high quality food. Some food may be selling at or below wholesale. So it is at least worth checking out.
Or you could get involved with an farm coop. I have no idea how it is price wise, but I think it is cheaper than a grocery store. The food is locally grown, and can be organic, so it is usually high quality. How a coop usually works is that you pay them a flat fee every month and they send you seasonal produce as they harvest it.
Like many hobbies, you can make it really expensive, but you really don't need to. A few pots, a good-sized cast-iron skillet for less than $20, a decent knife (I like Chinese vegetable cleavers), a paring knife, a few wooden spoons, a cutting board or two. That's enough to start out, and (as with programming), starting small can give you a better idea what you actually need.
You'll get vastly better spices and herbs than you would at the store, for half the price (less if you buy in larger quantities). Every year, I shop the retail store in my hometown, and walk away with all the spices I need for a year (20 or 30 different kinds) for about $60. It's slightly more if you have to get them shipped, but still way cheaper than the megamart.
Penzey's is nice as a nationally available place, but I've had better luck getting spices locally. There's an Indian market that carries several spices for shockingly cheap, and they're quite fresh. You can get tons of other great stuff at ethnic grocery stores, too: http://ask.metafilter.com/117514/Interesting-foods-in-ethnic...
One of the local health food stores bags their own spices, and they have pretty good turnover. That might be more hit or miss, but worth a try.
Don't take this the wrong way, but I find this to be a very puzzling sentence. To me, cooking your own food is a normal way of life, not something you "take up." I'm in my early 40's and I've been cooking since I was about 10 years old. My 8 year-old son helps me make bread and some meals all the time. It's not rocket science and it doesn't take expensive ingredients or tools. It was only in the last few years that I even had a set of knives that I could say were "good."
This morning I spent about $5 on a McDonalds breakfast (yeah, yeah, I know!). For about that same $5, I plan on making falafels with tzatziki sauce and pita bread for dinner tonight for me and my wife (and the kid if he'll eat it). Infinitely healthier and tastier than McSuck and feeds more for the same cost.
Don't make feeding yourself sound more complicated than it is!
Of course they should NOT remove it! Like facebook, myspace, and real life, follower counts provide a huge service.
The number of followers is a really strong objective measure of an account's (or a person's) legitimacy.
How do you know the guy that added you on facebook isn't a spam bot? If he has 600 friends (or whatever is average in your social group), then he's probably legit. If he has 0 friends, he's probably not.
How do you know if the guy that's presenting you a business proposal is trustworthy? Based on the number of references or mutual friends or the breadth of his past experience (higher = better).
How do you know that THE REAL SHAQ is actually the real Shaq? Because 650,000 people have already verified it for you.
My point is that external opinions of people (or representations of people) are really important. The easiest way to verify this is to look at sheer numbers - "Tom has 20,000 followers. Mike has 1,000 followers. Therefore, I am risking less by following Tom" is sound logic. People don't have time to research every Twitter account they want to follow. Therefore, Follower Count is a really great way to convey legitimacy quickly.
How do you know that THE REAL SHAQ is actually the real Shaq? Because 650,000 people have already verified it for you.
Whilst I agree with you, it should be noted most people thought the CNNbrk account was CNN until yesterday (and only now it actually is). That's 900,000+ people who had verified it.
The condescending and closed-minded tone detract from the author's obvious point (startup GOOD, job bad). A more serious consideration of both sides would have proved more useful.
For example, a very serious benefit of having a lowly 'job' is to have a set schedule and be able to make it to every one of your kid's baseball games. The debate is not a clear cut good vs. evil argument so it should not be treated as such.
Not to mention, if it weren't for jobs, who would work at his startup? The 'jobs suck' mentality fails on the criterion of universality.
And, though it sounds boring, stability and routine are big advantages, and they don't necessitate becoming a drone. I find that having a job provides me with a basic structure around which my non-job activities can more readily crystallize.
It's important to compare like against like. There's a bias in favor of startups because the relative positions are different; he's comparing being the owner of one against being an entry- or mid-level employee in the other.
Working for a company can be good if you do it right. The issue is that, in order for it to still be worth it to come in to work after about 6 months, you need to become someone's protege and get beneficial consideration regarding project allocation, career development, and responsibilities. Much of whether or not this happens is based on luck, not performance or even talent, so it usually takes 3-5 rounds before getting it to work. Most people conclude after 1-2 rounds that the game is just rigged against them and that jobs suck.
