zlacker

>>babelf+(OP)
> Lot of people critiquing this, but you can't deny the success.

You could say that about literally any shady business. Imagine seeing a PDF proving tobacco leaders knew for decades that it caused cancer and saying what you did.

Being monetarily successful does not mean you’re good or shouldn’t be criticised.

>>latexr+im
What’s shady about producing entertaining videos that people want to watch?

Are Marvel films shady for being popular? Is HN shady for adding features which increase engagement?

>>forres+RO
Heck yes, Marvel films, any big Hollywood films, are shady. HN is basically a vanity project so it's less shady. If HN was "optimized for engagement" the way a MrBeast video or Marvel film is, I bet I'm not the only one who would be out of here.

>>vinter+5R
HN puts the most popular submissions on top. Allows commenting and reviews, greys out low voted content.

You don’t think this is optimized for for engagement? Don’t let the beige design fool you.

>>briand+yW
hn is not optimized (thank good) and didn’t change in forever. There is also no monetizing, it doesn’t have ads nor subscription, and if it were more popular it would be more expensive to host.

Instead look at reddit is desperately trying (inline ads, chat, avatars, forcing app use)

>>ralfd+zY
> There is also no monetizing, it doesn’t have ads nor subscription...

This is false. HN is hosted by YC, and as such promotes YC ventures. On the front page right now is the following link (with disallowed comments and upvotes):

https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/continue/jobs/smcxRnM-...