All Topics

Discussions center on the importance of proper swimming skills, risks of drowning in oceans or pools versus casual swimming experience, and debates over water safety and learning to swim efficiently.

Users recommend specific films across genres like sci-fi, drama, and arthouse cinema, share favorites, and request more suggestions in response to discussions about interesting or thematic movies.

The cluster focuses on discussions about emulators for NES and SNES consoles, including official Nintendo mini hardware, community emulators like bsnes, and comparisons between NES, SNES, and other retro Nintendo systems.

The cluster focuses on debates about salary fairness at Uber, where employees complain about pay differences among coworkers, especially newer hires receiving higher compensation, and broader discussions on tech pay equity and jealousy.

Discussions focus on the practical adoption of Haskell in startups, web development, and industry applications like Facebook's spam filtering, debating its suitability for production, popularity among developers, and real-world examples.

Discussions focus on Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) as specialized ASICs for neural networks and machine learning, with frequent comparisons to Nvidia GPUs and mentions of alternatives like Cerebras chips or Pixel Visual Core.

The cluster debates the multifaceted nature of intelligence, arguing it is not a single scalar metric like IQ, distinct from skills, erudition, and other traits, and not the ultimate measure of human value or success.

Discussions focus on user experiences with Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD) features, including phantom braking, lane keeping, safety benefits, limitations, and comparisons to similar systems in other vehicles like Honda and Subaru.

Discussions focus on the rationality of anger and outrage, often advising against irrational emotional responses and promoting calmer, more rational reactions to various provocations.

Comments debate the sufficiency and use of firewalls (built-in OS ones like iptables/ufw or external like pfSense) for network security control, often arguing they already provide needed features instead of new OS capabilities.

Comments discuss Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to send humans to Mars, colonization feasibility, costs, challenges, and incentives.

Commenters repeatedly share Upton Sinclair's quote about financial incentives preventing understanding, along with similar quotes on willful ignorance, misusing words, and arguing with fools.

The cluster focuses on developers sharing success stories of side projects, web apps, and SaaS generating passive income like $1k-$6k/month, alongside skepticism and motivation to build monetizable ventures.

The cluster centers on debates about the necessity and value of smartwatches versus smartphones, covering advantages like wrist-based notifications, health tracking, and phone-free use against drawbacks such as discomfort, battery life, and redundancy.

Discussions focus on common English grammar errors like 'then' vs 'than', 'it's' vs 'its', and 'less' vs 'fewer', debating pedantry, hypercorrection, and usage acceptability in informal contexts.

The cluster focuses on advice for software developers struggling to find jobs, including tips on resumes, personal projects, networking, applying to smaller companies, and adjusting expectations in a tough market.

This cluster centers on debates about personal preferences for working in an office versus remotely from home, with users citing reasons like social interactions, work-life separation, limited home space, productivity, and distractions.

The cluster discusses the proliferation of new top-level domains (TLDs), including criticisms of their expansion, corporate ownership like Google and Verizon, ICANN's role, potential for abuse such as spam and shenanigans, and alternatives like unrestricted domain endings.

Comments debate the slowing and impending decline of world population growth due to falling fertility rates below replacement levels, highlighting concerns like aging demographics, economic impacts, and demographic transitions.

The cluster discusses criticisms of Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), focusing on its preferential treatment in search results, content caching on Google's servers, and views of it as vendor lock-in or an attack on the open web.

The cluster centers on debates criticizing Cloudflare for protecting controversial sites, unfair user blocking, DDoS involvement, and other policies, with some defenses of their services and non-interference stance.

Comments debate the merits of subscription-based models versus one-time payments or pay-as-you-go options for software and services, with many users expressing frustration over recurring fees for sporadic or non-ongoing use.

The cluster debates the costs and funding sources of pharmaceutical research and development, including public vs. private contributions, high clinical trial expenses, marketing spends, and the necessity of profits for innovation.

Discussions revolve around praising Sublime Text for its speed, cross-platform support, plugins, and performance, often recommending it over alternatives like VSCode, TextMate, Vim, and IDEs such as IntelliJ.

Commenters express curiosity about the noise, loudness, and audio quality of a demonstrated hardware device, frequently requesting sound demos or noting its volume and characteristics.

The cluster focuses on complaints about cables breaking or damaging easily, recommendations for durable alternatives like Kevlar-reinforced or high-quality cables, and discussions on cable length, weight, and reliability in hardware contexts.

Commenters share personal anecdotes about whether the article's main topic or skill was taught in their school curricula, often expressing surprise, nostalgia, or regional variations from decades ago.

Comments debate the decline and phase-out of coal-fired power plants, alternatives like renewables, and global trends in coal usage versus energy demands.

The cluster focuses on debates about Amazon's treatment of warehouse workers, including wages, safety, bathroom breaks, unionization, media coverage, and comparisons to other employers.

The cluster discusses whether Google is breaking laws, facing lawsuits in multiple countries, and using its legal power and resources to act above the law, with debates on accountability and investigations for other companies too.

Commenters repeatedly note that the legality, requirements, or allowance of a discussed practice or rule differs significantly across US states, with many specifying that it varies state-by-state rather than being uniform nationally.

Users share positive experiences of using the discussed product, software, or tool for months or years, emphasizing its reliability and effectiveness.

Discussions center on land value tax (LVT) as a solution to issues like land speculation, vacant lots, and inefficient property use, contrasting it with traditional property taxes and highlighting its benefits for urban development.

Commenters debate the true nature of computer science, arguing it is a theoretical branch of mathematics focused on algorithms, computability, and theory rather than practical programming or software engineering. Many criticize the name 'computer science' and distinguish it from computer engineering or coding.

Users complain that images on the linked webpage are not loading, blurry, broken, or missing, often requesting mirrors, reuploads, or alternatives to view them.

Comments primarily advise or debate getting married as a solution to personal issues like loneliness or stability, discussing pros, cons, and alternatives to marriage.

Debate on the effectiveness and risks of guns for personal protection in scenarios like active shooters, muggings, and armed confrontations, including deterrence, escalation, legal consequences, and untrained use.

Comments focus on counting, estimating, and debating the number of lines of code (LOC) in various software projects, often expressing surprise at how small or large the codebases are compared to expectations.

The cluster centers on discussions about whether to continue using Gmail or switch to alternatives, with users questioning its dominance, suggesting people stop using it, and asking for recommendations amid concerns like privacy and performance.

Cluster focuses on large language models like ChatGPT stubbornly insisting on incorrect answers, refusing to admit mistakes when corrected, and related issues like hallucinations, prompt failures, and workarounds such as regenerating responses.

The cluster focuses on how human memory works differently from computer storage, the benefits of training it, and mnemonic techniques like memory palaces for better recall.

Users repeatedly report that the discussed website is down, often attributing it to high traffic from Hacker News, with suggestions for caching and checks via downtime detectors.

Users discuss and share sources for accessing public US government datasets, including APIs like data.gov, bulk downloads, structured formats, and aggregators.

The cluster centers on discussions about US citizenship requirements, dual citizenship implications, renunciation rules, and eligibility for programs or benefits based on citizenship status.

Comments primarily request or discuss adding JSON support to a tool or format, recommend JSON libraries, viewers, formatters, and streaming tools, and debate JSON's advantages over alternatives.

Cluster focuses on comparisons, recommendations, and discussions of flight search engines and aggregators like Google Flights, Hipmunk, Kayak, Skyscanner, and others, highlighting features such as flexible dates, agony sorting, and booking options.

Users debate whether they can see eyes or hidden features in an image or visual, referencing squinting, naked eye visibility, optical illusions, and the 'cannot be unseen' effect.

Comments emphasize Android's ability to sideload APKs and use alternative app stores like F-Droid or Amazon, contrasting it with iOS's closed ecosystem and restrictions.

This cluster discusses the effectiveness of remote communication tools like Zoom and Slack compared to face-to-face office interactions, focusing on challenges such as casual chats, productivity, turn-taking cues, and hybrid meeting issues.

The cluster debates the interpretation of laws, contrasting strict literal readings (letter of the law) with judicial consideration of legislative intent (spirit of the law), dismissing technical semantic arguments in favor of clear, intended meanings.

The cluster debates whether people should love their jobs and pursue passion in work or accept them primarily as a source of income, highlighting experiences in tech where expectations of fulfillment clash with reality.

This cluster revolves around complaints and questions about the strong anti-cryptocurrency sentiment on Hacker News, including downvotes for pro-crypto comments and perceptions of HN as hostile to crypto.

Discussions center on Ethereum's value, hype, suitability for specific use cases, comparisons to Bitcoin, and criticisms or defenses of its technology and ecosystem.

Users share personal anecdotes of successful weight loss achieved through calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, reduced eating windows, dietary changes like cutting sugar or alcohol, and moderate exercise such as walking or running.

Users recommend self-hosted and open-source alternatives like Nextcloud, OwnCloud, Seafile, and Spideroak to commercial cloud storage services such as Dropbox for file syncing and sharing needs.

Comments discuss the productivity, maturity, and relevance of Ruby on Rails for building web apps, often comparing it favorably to alternatives like Django, Phoenix, Laravel, and Node.js frameworks.

The cluster debates whether effective engineering managers need technical backgrounds, criticizes non-technical managers like MBAs, and discusses the Peter Principle in promoting engineers to management roles.

Discussions center on using WebRTC for peer-to-peer real-time communication like video chat, including comparisons to the featured project, browser support issues, NAT traversal, and alternatives.

Discussions center on how cryptocurrency projects monetize through tokens or coins, including pre-mining, incentives for participants, and skepticism about their value as shares or Ponzi schemes.

The cluster centers on users repeatedly expressing enthusiasm, calling a shared video amazing, cool, and worth watching, with thanks for sharing it. Samples highlight its technical impressiveness, clear explanations, and entertainment value.

The cluster centers on sarcastic criticism and irony about OpenAI not living up to its 'open' name, with commenters mocking the company for becoming less open over time.

This cluster features numerous comments recommending niche or alternative programming languages like Crystal, Roc, Gleam, Mercury, and others as potential solutions or fits for the discussed needs, often with direct links to their websites.

This cluster centers on discussions about the risks and dangers of AI, including human misuse, inadequate safety measures from AI companies, training on harmful human data, and debates over AI alignment and guardrails.

Commenters repeatedly invoke climate change, often sarcastically or skeptically questioning its relevance to the original post's topic or attributing unrelated issues to it.

This cluster focuses on restrictive or unfair clauses in employment contracts, such as those penalizing early resignation or requiring repayment of relocation costs, with discussions on negotiating their removal, consulting lawyers, and refusing to sign problematic terms.

The cluster centers on discussions questioning or recommending static site generators (SSGs) as simpler alternatives to dynamic websites or new tools, debating their advantages, limitations, and comparisons.

Discussions center on the appeal, quality, pricing, atmosphere, and business model of Starbucks, often comparing it to independent coffee shops and questioning why people patronize it despite criticisms of taste and cost.

Users repeatedly ask about how scores and rankings are calculated in a featured project or tool, seeking explanations of the algorithms, transparency, resistance to gaming, and alternatives like Elo ratings.

Commenters discuss and criticize the manipulation of URLs to encode complex data like JSON or parameters, often lamenting the resulting hideous, long, or tricky-looking URLs while debating best practices for URL design.

Comments debate the flaws of using lines of code (LOC) as a measure of programming productivity, quality, or progress, often citing Bill Gates' quote likening it to measuring aircraft by weight.

Commenters downplay criticisms of a software feature, design choice, or change by stating it's not necessarily bad, they like it, or they're happy with the status quo.

Cluster focuses on recommendations to use virtual machines like VirtualBox and VMware for running Windows on Linux desktops (or vice versa) to access incompatible applications without dual-booting or switching OSes.

Comments primarily question the advantages of a new tool, library, or web app over using Google Sheets or spreadsheets, often suggesting Sheets as a simpler or equivalent alternative.

Cluster centers on commenters repeatedly invoking North Korea as an analogy for authoritarianism, government control, censorship, or extreme policies, often in sarcastic or comparative debates about other countries or situations.

Users recommend and compare budgeting and personal finance software like YNAB, Firefly III, Gnucash, Lunch Money, and Actual Budget, discussing features such as bank imports, self-hosting, multi-currency support, and user interfaces.

Comments discuss learning functional programming, its benefits over OOP, reasons for limited adoption, and recommendations for resources like essays and courses.

Users share experiences of trying various suggestions, tools, projects, or approaches that ultimately failed or didn't work well, often in a humorous or resigned tone.

Cluster discusses preferences between living in hot, humid southern climates (e.g., Austin, Houston, Florida) versus cold northern winters (e.g., Chicago, New England), debating which extreme is more tolerable with mentions of humidity, AC use, and personal adaptations.

Comments recommend and compare established transactional email services like SendGrid, Mailgun, AWS SES, Postmark, and Mandrill as alternatives to a new provider, discussing reliability, pricing, deliverability, and ease of use.

This cluster discusses the importance of market competition, frequently attributing various problems to insufficient competition and highlighting how competitive markets drive better outcomes.

The cluster discusses the need for, quality of, and benefits from better bike lanes and cycling infrastructure in cities, often highlighting safety issues, comparisons to car infrastructure, and political barriers to improvement.

This cluster focuses on the difficulties of maintaining large, complex, and aging codebases, including issues like accumulated cruft, poor modularity, onboarding new developers, and debates on whether large codebases indicate architectural failure or can be managed effectively.

Discussions center on parental strategies for supervising, restricting, or educating children about internet use to protect them from harmful content, versus allowing free exploration.

The cluster debates whether Uber and Lyft drivers are independent contractors or employees, discussing labor laws, control over work, benefits, scheduling flexibility, and comparisons to traditional taxi drivers.

The cluster focuses on Microsoft's historical antitrust violations, particularly the US DOJ case over bundling Internet Explorer with Windows and abusing OS monopoly power to stifle competitors like Netscape.

This cluster centers on criticisms of large corporations' excessive power, influence over governments via lobbying, and their role as mini-dictatorships or entities rivaling nation-states, often harming ordinary people.

The cluster focuses on discussions about IPv6 support, particularly the lack thereof from ISPs, calls for wider adoption, and experiences with IPv6 deployment in services and networks.

Users argue over the accuracy, scale, and feasibility of massive cost estimates—often in billions or trillions—for large projects, government initiatives, and public spending.

Users discuss being natural night owls who prefer late bedtimes and peak productivity at night, sharing experiences of struggling with early mornings, adapting to morning schedules due to work or life, and debating chronotypes and societal biases toward early rising.

Comments focus on the global trend of falling fertility and birth rates, especially in wealthier and developing nations, correlating them with economic growth, urbanization, and access to birth control rather than politics or culture.

The cluster focuses on fears that a new feature or capability will be abused by spammers to evade detection and bypass filters, alongside debates on its potential impact on spam prevention.

The cluster debates whether websites should require JavaScript to function properly, with users advocating to boycott such sites for poor accessibility and site owners defending their design choices and suggesting non-users simply avoid them.

The cluster focuses on criticisms of Uber's history of shady practices, including investigating journalists, mishandling sexual harassment claims, sabotage, and illegal activities, with debates on whether to trust the company.

Users discuss configuring Firefox and Chrome to enable direct searches from the address bar using keywords, custom engines like DuckDuckGo, and features like Quick Searches or Smart Keywords, often comparing browsers and advocating alternatives to Google.

Commenters repeatedly compare the discussed AI image generation tool or technique to Stable Diffusion, questioning its novelty, praising its progress and open-source nature, or debating its capabilities against alternatives like DALL-E.

Discussions revolve around personal experiences, pros and cons of living in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, including high costs, homelessness, social life, culture, weather, tech jobs, and comparisons to cities like NYC.

Comments debate the expected time for new hires, particularly engineers, to become productive, with estimates varying from weeks to several months.

Cluster focuses on debates distinguishing case fatality rate (CFR) from infection fatality rate (IFR) for COVID-19, arguing that the true IFR is under 1% due to many untested mild infections.

The cluster centers on debates about the true meaning of DevOps, including whether it means developers doing operations work, creating dedicated DevOps teams, or fostering a culture that breaks down dev-ops silos, with many criticizing common misconceptions.

Comments harshly criticize Paul Graham (or similar figures), calling him a jerk, obnoxious attention-seeker, kook, and insufferable twat.