←back to thread

The Website Hacker News Is Afraid to Discuss

(daringfireball.net)
479 points jgruber | 4 comments | 27 Mar 25 00:18 UTC | HN request time: 0.657s | source
Show context
e_ ◴[27 Mar 25 01:44 UTC] No.43489594[source]▶
I suspect it may be a mix of various factors:

1. The HN audience’s preferences have changed over time

2. There’s way more competition – the amount of great content to share and discuss has increased a lot

3. Gruber apparently does not write as much or as well as he did a decade or so ago (at least according to many Daring Fireball readers I know)

4. Yes, many readers don’t like him, but I would also say that many readers, especially younger ones, simply don’t care about him (related to point number 1)

5. Related to all above, Gruber’s influence and relevance in tech debates have probably declined

replies(1): >>43489850 #
1. jgruber ◴[27 Mar 25 02:33 UTC] No.43489850[source]▶
So you think I was consistently at #3 “as much and as well” from 2007-2021, and declined to #72 “as much and as well” quality in the last 4 years?
replies(2): >>43494479 #>>43496369 #
2. JKCalhoun ◴[27 Mar 25 15:10 UTC] No.43494479[source]▶
If you discard that point (and it is a very subjective one and so easy to discard) there are still four other points that might have some weight.
replies(1): >>43496445 #
3. e_ ◴[27 Mar 25 18:16 UTC] No.43496369[source]▶
I am not sure to be honest, hence “apparently”. It also might be the case that this is less important than the other points I mentioned.

I’m also not sure you could say you were “consistently” at #3 from 2007 to 2021. That would be like saying you were “consistently” at #5 from 2007 to 2025.

Let’s check other periods:

From 2020 to 2021, you are ranked #13 [1].

From 2018 to 2019, you are ranked #26 [2].

From 2017 to 2018, you are ranked #15 [3].

From 2015 to 2016, you are ranked #179 [4].

From 2014 to 2015, you are ranked #33 [5].

[1]: https://refactoringenglish.com/tools/hn-popularity/?start=20...

[2]: https://refactoringenglish.com/tools/hn-popularity/?start=20...

[3]: https://refactoringenglish.com/tools/hn-popularity/?start=20...

[4]: https://refactoringenglish.com/tools/hn-popularity/?start=20...

[5]: https://refactoringenglish.com/tools/hn-popularity/?start=20...

4. KerrAvon ◴[27 Mar 25 18:22 UTC] No.43496445[source]▶
Are they? I mean, none of them are very objective.

Except that #5 is objectively not true. Apple execs pay attention to DaringFireball. What he posts matters for that reason alone.