Ask YC: Innocuous news?

Given all the complaints about the increasing popularity of the site, I was more expecting "Boring News, Nothing Funny Here, Go Back to Tech Crunch" or something.

cubicle67• 17 years ago

Could we have it back again? I quite like it. Appeals to my somewhat odd taste.

pg2• 17 years ago

Don't worry, it will only last for the current server process. I just changed the name in the repl.

far33d• 17 years ago

Maybe higher karma users could change the title dynamically like they can change the top bar color?

asimjalis• 17 years ago

Why not call it Make Something People Want News. It might focus the mind of the posters and reduce off-topic posts. Also "Innocuous News" has the feel of an inside joke; it might lead to a recurring Ask-HN thread about the name.

pedalpete• 17 years ago

I rather liked the strange looks I got from reading Hacker News, but at least I learned a new word today

Innocuous - 1. not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy. 2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark. 3. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.

Ardit20• 17 years ago

The word sounds much more interesting than what it actually means though. I like it :)

javanix• 17 years ago

You really hadn't heard it before today?

icey• 17 years ago

Not everyone here is a native English speaker.

JabavuAdams2• 17 years ago

I read a lot, but I have a habit of glossing over words for which I have a vague sense, but not a precise definition.

For a while, whenever I'd read something, I'd just quickly jot down any word for which I couldn't come up with a good definition. Later, I'd look them up.

It works, and it's saved me some embarrassment. Schadenfreude didn't mean what I thought it meant.

eru3• 17 years ago

What did you think it meant? (Just curious - I am a native German speaker.)

Confusion2• 17 years ago

I find that an amazing thing about language, that you often don't need a precise definition, because the meaning is clear from the context. Perhaps 'innocuous' isn't the best example, as 'innocent' is well known and pretty close, but it also works for words that you lack any 'hint' for.

I looked up innocuous when I saw the title change, but didn't really learn anything new.

ableal• 17 years ago

Mostly harmless. Or '42'. Just plain '42'.

(if you need to ask, you can't afford it ;-)

GrandMasterBirt• 17 years ago

Mostly Harmless News. Definitely what it should be. DON'T PANIC!

pasbesoin• 17 years ago

Deep Thought

okeumeni• 17 years ago

Innocuous News; Even creepier than Hacker news : )

minalecs• 17 years ago

agree theres some unusually shady about something claiming to be innocuous

pcrawfor• 17 years ago

awesome

maclifer• 17 years ago

Wonderful! Saves the creepy looks from those who keep an eye on the office... now just bewildered looks.

LotusMegami• 17 years ago

I suggest "l33t |-|@xx0r n3\/\/5"

mattlanger• 17 years ago

In our office you get funny looks if you don't read Hacker News.

stewiecat• 17 years ago

I dream of such places, thanks for letting my know that, unlike unicorns, they exist.

grinich• 17 years ago

There's no reason for them not to exist, you just may not have found one yet.

Just like magnetic monopoles...

hwijaya• 17 years ago

Actually, i like it as Hacker News. I'm just so used to say it as "Hacker News" to explain things to my team. Can't imagine having to pronounce "Innocuous News".

dfranke• 17 years ago

When I run into ignorance about the hacker/cracker distinction and don't feel like going into the whole schpiel, I find that the phrase "relax; I work for the good guys" is sufficient to calm people down.

csomar• 17 years ago

I like the name "hacker" why change it for all of us, the one who habe problems with it use a userscript

AlleyRow• 17 years ago

I like Innocuous, but you could always give "hacker" a weird web 2.0 spelling to solve the problem.

whughes• 17 years ago

That would be a step in the wrong direction, in my opinion. Pseudo-leetspeek hacker news? It's even sketchier.

vlad• 17 years ago

Allow us to customize the title, just like we can customize the title bar background.

Ask YC: Innocuous news?

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