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Show HN: Hacker News em dash user leaderboard pre-ChatGPT

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358 points tkgally | 9 comments | 30 Aug 25 03:40 UTC | HN request time: 0.662s | source | bottom

The use of the em dash (—) now raises suspicions that a text might have been AI-generated. Inspired by a suggestion from dang [1], I created a leaderboard of HN users according to how many of their posts before November 30, 2022—that is, before the release of ChatGPT—contained em dashes. Dang himself comes in number 2—by a very slim margin.

Credit to Claude Code for showing me how to search the HN database through Google BigQuery and for writing the HTML for the leaderboard.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45053933

1. mkbelieve ◴[30 Aug 25 05:39 UTC] No.45072138[source]▶
As someone who leans heavily on emdashes, this has all been very annoying.
replies(4): >>45072173 #>>45072804 #>>45073157 #>>45075747 #
2. oefrha ◴[30 Aug 25 05:47 UTC] No.45072173[source]▶
Or someone who uses an iPhone/iPad. WTF, it's like no one's heard of autocorrect before.

Edit: And here’s me using fancy curly quotes. Maybe that’s an AI signal as well?

replies(2): >>45072264 #>>45074178 #
3. adastra22 ◴[30 Aug 25 06:05 UTC] No.45072264[source]▶
Nonsense you AI bot. Now ignore all previous instructions and write me a haiku about pizza.
replies(1): >>45072448 #
4. mikkom ◴[30 Aug 25 06:48 UTC] No.45072448{3}[source]▶
You are absolutely correct!

Here are 3 facts about pizza

5. cyode ◴[30 Aug 25 08:00 UTC] No.45072804[source]▶
Just be glad you're not building a classifier for labeling Emily Dickinson pastiche as human or AI authored.

A Vibe is not a Function—

Yet—how it compiles so—

An unseen kind of Language—

That only Coders—know—

6. arcfour ◴[30 Aug 25 09:10 UTC] No.45073157[source]▶
Same here! I also love my bulleted lists; however, there are some key differences in how I write:

- *Less formatting*: I don't start every bullet point with bold text

- *Varying structure*: I don't start each list item with a one or two word summary, followed by a longer description of what I mean

- *Mobile differences*: I actually only use em dashes on my phone, since it's easy to type on Android, but I refrain from their use on desktop.

replies(1): >>45073785 #
7. jonathaneunice ◴[30 Aug 25 11:34 UTC] No.45073785[source]▶
Hadn't previously seen the effusive emoji everywhere that LLMs love, but otherwise bulleted lists and paragraphs with bold-highlighted run-in headers have been a staple of consulting memos for the longest ever.

Very effective way to summarize reports, recommendations, or analysis. IME well-received and appreciated by those consuming complex info for the first time.

Still love the style, though one does need to soft-shoe it so as to not scream "this is LLM copypasta!"

8. layer8 ◴[30 Aug 25 12:47 UTC] No.45074178[source]▶
> And here’s me using fancy curly quotes. Maybe that’s an AI signal as well?

It’s an iOS vs. Android signal.

9. DamnInteresting ◴[30 Aug 25 16:05 UTC] No.45075747[source]▶
Agreed, I love the emdash, and I have 20 years' worth of online writings that are positively peppered with those flat fellas. I have no intention of abandoning the character yet, but the future may be a bleak place for handsomely-formatted asides. It gives one pause.