

Ask HN: Why are both the URL and text of HN submissions saved? - rahimnathwani

The help text says &#x27;if there is a url, the text will be ignored&#x27;.  However, when I browse the site using hn.premii.com (which uses the Algolia API IIRC), both the text and URL of a submission are visible.  Visiting the original submission link shows only the URL and comments, but not the text submitted with the URL.<p>I understand and agree with the rationale for URL&#x2F;text being either&#x2F;or, but why save the text if it&#x27;s not going to be displayed?
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minimaxir
Using the Algolia API, the text is what appears if the submission is a self
post; otherwise the field will be empty. (the URL of a self post is the URL to
the self post).

~~~
rahimnathwani
The results of this API call include both the url (external) and the story
text:

[http://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/7861545](http://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/items/7861545)

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unreal37
Why does it matter?

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xyclos
isn't it displayed on the comments page?

~~~
rahimnathwani
No, it's not. For example, compare:
[http://hn.premii.com/#/comments/7861545/show-hn-
tubelytics-r...](http://hn.premii.com/#/comments/7861545/show-hn-tubelytics-
realtime-dashboard-for-youtube-publishers-)

with:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7861545](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7861545)

In the hn.premii.com link, the OP's text is shown below the URL. You can see
s/he also added the same text as a comment, presumably because after realizing
that the text was not displayed on news.ycombinator.com.

