

Is it annoying to have non-hackers on HN? - avni000

As HN becomes more popular and mainstream, how do hackers feel about having more non-hackers on the site - favorable because it provides an opportunity to teach or irritating because it changes the dynamics and intent?
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jgeorge
Non-hackers who want to be hackers have to learn somewhere/somehow. Non-
hackers that want to get information on technical subjects could do far worse
than get their news here. Personally, I welcome anyone here as long as they
understand the conversation here should remain technically focused.

I lament the people ("hackers" and "non-hackers" alike) that seem to try to
convert HN into their other non-technical favorite discussion forum.

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jsilence
As long as discussion stay focussed and commentors try to actually contribute
valuable input I don't care about their profession/attitude.

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firebones
Preemptive edit:

There must be something I don't understand, because the thread cited below
isn't in the front page results if I'm logged in, but IS on the front page if
I'm not logged in. So I will leave the post because of the points related to
liberal arts, but rescind my voting conspiracy mindset.

=====

Take a look at this thread:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8914678](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8914678)

It's about reading, and literature. I commented on it when it was on the front
page. Went back to view the thread later and it was nowhere in the first 600
results.

I don't know why for sure yet, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that it
had something to do with the liberal arts nature of the post offending some of
the hardcore flag killers here.

Non-engineering disciplines may attract a significant number of down voters
and haters that the answer to your question is, in the opinion of the masses
and filtered through the editorial policy of the voting/flagging system: yes.

I disagree. I think every field has its hacking contingent, and the point of
liberal arts is to find breadth and interdisciplinary connection, which
produces equal, if not richer, insights than narrow specialization.

So my answer is no, it's not annoying to have non-hackers on HN. I'm here to
learn and to form those connections across disciplines.

It is annoying to have shills, or black-and-white silo thinkers. But these are
independent of the hacker/non-hacker dimension.

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godzillabrennus
I came for the free beer but stayed for the physics lessons.

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krapp
'non-hackers' is a pretty loaded term.

While I don't have any doubt that more and more diverse users causes friction
for those who prefer HN to cater to the sort of stories and culture they
prefer, it's worth mentioning that the site is about 'anything that satisfies
intellectual curiosity', not _hacking_ in any particular sense.

I'm not annoyed. Some of the most interesting stories i've seen here have had
nothing to do with 'hacking' at all, whatever that means.

~~~
avni000
Appreciate this perspective - I agree that hackers/non-hackers is a very
inaccurate label and I like the idea that it's for "satisfying intellectual
curiosity".

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izolate
Honestly, yes. But only if those non-hackers consist of people in industries I
don't look upon favorably: marketers, advertisers, recruiters.

I come to HN seeking primarily technical discussion. Although tech is my
primary interest, if your area of interest is as nerdy as tech (science, for
example), you're more than welcome here in my eyes.

~~~
Rooster61
Marketers yes. Advertisers yes. But recruiters? I don't have a problem with a
recruiter seeking to become more knowledgeable about the tech field.

Granted, I don't want to see HN become a morass of hiring threads, but if and
when I have another job to apply for, I'd like the recruiter to have some idea
of what he's talking about and reading HN articles isn't exactly detrimental
to that end.

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subrat_rout
I have seen quite a good number of contributors here are non-hackers. As long
as the post or comment stays relevant and constructive then it does not
matter. Rather I have seen few hackers whose posts are nothing but quite
arrogant and non constructive or a way to vent or show off.

