Why stories like Egypt are fit for HN

http://tav.espians.com/why-stories-like-egypt-are-fit-for-hacker-news.html

by tav • 15 years ago

2 2 15 years ago

tav.espians.com

georgecmu• 15 years ago

Your blogpost would make a great Tell HN submission.

I hear what you say, and I've upvoted you, but I disagree with you completely. I believe that stories such as those currently unfolding in Egypt are absolutely unsuited to HN.

Here are my specific counter-points:

    It's historic! Just look at the picture to the right!
    If something truly momentous is happening, then I'd
    like to see discussion about it on HN - it tends to
    be well-informed.

Well informed discussion does not make it suitable. If it's not somehow specific to HN instead of generic news discussion groups then it doesn't belong on HN. You get well-informed discussion elsewhere if you know where to look.

    The Hacker News Guidelines explicitly allows for
    political stories that demonstrate "evidence of some
    interesting new phenomenon".

There is no interesting new phenomenon being reported. No one is claiming that new technologies are specifically helping, there are just vague claims that see to be based on the idea that Twitter and Facebook are new and hip and cool and therefore must be helping. There are no facts, there is no information.

    It's arguably more worthy of discussion than the
    majority of the Techcrunch posts that we see on HN.

That's true, but most of the Techcrunch crap doesn't belong here either.

    It's an entrepreneurial opportunity! With a GDP of
    nearly $500bn, Egypt just became a lot more attractive
    for innovative startups.

Excellent - tell us how! Tell us what! Connect startup opportunities to what's happening!

Just don't endlessly regurgitate the same news that we're seeing 24 hours a day on every other "news" medium.

Keep HN special.

Why stories like Egypt are fit for HN

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