
15% Off "Learn Python The Hard Way" For Christmas - rayvega
http://sheddingbikes.com/posts/1290291874.html
======
lwhi
How is this not an advert?

~~~
pavs
Most of "Show HN" posts are also plain ads and promotion.

I think most HN users are ok with self-promotion as long as its from the "in-
crowd" or YC funded.

Just pointing out the obvious, I have no feelings towards it one way or
another.

~~~
lwhi
Maybe so, but perhaps the differentiation between most 'Show HN' posts and
this, is that most 'Show HN' posts invite conversation.

There's really not much that can be said about this, other than "Great, it's a
coupon".

~~~
kmfrk
If you have been living under a rock and don't know the meta part of HN, then
sure, it's an advert. As it stands, LPtHW has been the centre of a lot of
debate inside and outside Hacker News with Zed participating in the comments
on Hacker News as is his wont[1]. Zed has made the very relevant point of
where the hell Python - or programming - newcomers are going to look for an
introductory text that doesn't make them run screaming for the hills,
something Dive into Python does. And because he is the great guy he is, Zed
did more than oppugning in a back-and-forth Python discussion, but took the
time and effort to release an, at the time, free, fantastic introduction to
Python, using a very novel and didactically amazing approach.

The sole shop for LPtHW is on Lulu, and thus, this link - submitted by someone
other than Zed - is a nice service to the people who know about the book - and
might even have downloaded the free .pdf in its formative stages - and plan on
getting it eventually.

Zed Shaw is one of us HN guys. Not an outsider peddling snake oil or an
arbitrary product. He preaches the merry gospel of programming and hacking
better than most of us will ever be capable of doing, and with no ulterior
motives. If that isn't worthy of Hacker News, I don't think I know what is.

[1]: <http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=zedshaw>

~~~
lwhi
That's a great point; the author is a very worthy contributor and deserves
gratitude.

But where's the line?

Should user popularity be used to dictate whether a post - which is solely
focused advertising a product - lives?

~~~
kmfrk
User popularity has little to do with what I wrote. :)

I think it's find to have a rule set, but rigid lines will rarely help when
applied to real-life cases. I'm sure pg suggests using your own gut feeling
and common sense when weighing the merit of a submission.

Don't sweat the details.

~~~
lwhi
Hmm.. I think user popularity definitely has something to do with what you
wrote. The user in question is popular for a very good reason, but that
doesn't really change the fact :)

Personally, I think that if a post doesn't directly provoke conversation,
maybe it shouldn't be posted.

------
kmfrk
I know what I'll be getting this Christmas.

On another note, there are much more profitable ways to sell e-books than
through Lulu: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1797868>.

------
jgjg
wow, 15 whole percent

