

Who owns http://hackerne.ws - volida
http://yvolos.blogspot.com/2009/08/who-owns-httphackernews.html

======
ratsbane
PG could configure the news.ycombinator.com server to return a 301 to any
request which has a HOST header that's not news.ycombinator.com - either that
or hardcode the domain name in links.

I'm sure that Volida's motives are honest as he stated but this practice -
buying a domain name that sounds like something popular and setting the A
records to the intended site - has the potential to be used maliciously. All
you'd have to do is wait for traffic to grow and then, in time, switch the DNS
records to your own site. Of course, the HTTPS pages are going to show
certificate problems while your A record is pointing at the original target -
but many users will just go ahead and accept bad certificates.

How would a legitimate site owner defend against this sort of thing? Would the
solution I described in the top paragraph be effective? Has this ever been
done maliciously?

~~~
gila
I don't know too much about web whatnots but couldn't this be done through
virtualhosts? like say ip/other domains go to nothing or another place,
domain.tld/subd.domain.tld goes to the main website?

Or am I mistaken and this circumvents that?

~~~
tlrobinson
Sure, if he wanted to block it completely. Or he could just do the redirect
with a simple check of the Host header.

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sh1mmer
If the only reason is shortness of typing, why don't you use a bookmark? Even
s60 browsers have those.

~~~
rms
With autocomplete, typing can be faster than a bookmark when all you have to
do is type "h" then press down and ok.

~~~
simonsarris
Amusingly, all I do is type "n" and then press enter, and Google Chrome takes
me here using the normal address.

~~~
apotheon
I typically get as far as "new", but then, I routinely have more than a
hundred tabs open in Firefox. If Chrom(e|ium) worked on FreeBSD, I'd probably
be using that instead.

~~~
Pistos2
I like leaving things open, but I'm really curious how having over 30 tabs is
an improved user experience. The most common places I visit are either always
etched in the address bar history, and so are reachable in a few keystrokes,
or have outright aliases, so I can type a keyword and it transforms into a
URL. Everything else is just a handful of keystrokes away, via Selfmarks (my
bookmarks-on-the-internet service).

How can you navigate among your tabs with any semblance of ease or speed?

~~~
jey
Yeah, I keep hearing of people (esp. power users) using web browsers with
hundreds of tabs open, and I don't understand why they need so many, nor how
it remains manageable/useful/navigable. When I end up with > 25 tabs, it
usually just means I need to run a garbage collection cycle. Whatever the
reason is, it's probably some use case(s) that could be better handled by the
browser or an extension. Are they using all the tabs as a queue of stuff to
read? That's a problem I run into, and I deal with it by keeping a vim buffer
open with a list of URLs.

~~~
jacquesm
I use my browser as my 'auxiliary memory', if I don't have time to read
something right away I just open a tab and leave it until I have time.

On a typical day this means that in the morning I start with the session I
left the evening before, say 25 tabs or so (usually project + whatever
documentation I need for it), then as the day goes by the number of open tabs
slowly increases. By the evening it probably is at its peak somewhere between
50 and 70 or so, then before I go to bed I catch up on my reading and close
anything that doesn't have to do with work ready for the next cycle.

~~~
apgwoz
You should try instapaper.com

~~~
apotheon
. . . or the Read it Later extension for Firefox.

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qeorge
Its a good example of how poorly Google's duplicate content filter works[1].
But I agree, its quite deceptive.

[1]<http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ahackerne.ws>

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snprbob86
Why not donate the domain to YCombinator?

~~~
Zev
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=84040> (found via
<http://searchyc.com/hackerne.ws?sort=by_date_r>) — Sounds like he's offered
to do so in the past.

~~~
volida
Like Zev pointed out, I am willing to do so.

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Hexstream
"Well, I don't plan in doing any kind of man-in-middle attack. Neither I am
planning to selling the domain to a 3rd party."

Well, I still think it's irresponsible to provide or use such a "service". I
can't think it's good for security if people get in the habit of relying on
potentially unreliable third-parties just for the heck of it.

Why ask people to trust that you have only good intentions when that wouldn't
even be necessary if you didn't provide a (IMHO less than worthless)
"service"?

I might sound harsh, but the whole matter just reeks of sloppiness to me.

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joubert
1) I don't think the domain adds a wide spread value (if any). 2) Dunno why
people are getting their panties in a knot.

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christefano
Thank you for posting this.

Since the domain is registered at GoDaddy, it's trivial to set up a redirect.
Just select the domain and click the "Forward" button.

By the way, for someone who prefers to remain anonymous you don't make it very
easy to post anonymously on your weblog.

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chanux2
I do not see a need of short or fancy URL for HN.

BUT

since it's out there and the owner is willing to donate, I think it's better
PG getting it.

