A List of Hacker News's Undocumented Features and Behaviors (2018) (github.com)

Article summary

The article discusses undocumented features and behaviors of Hacker News, a link aggregator platform. It lists various features such as moderators, downvoting comments, and flagging submissions, as well as behaviors like implicit downranking of certain topics. The article aims to provide a comprehensive list of these hidden features and behaviors. The list has no affiliation with Hacker News or its parent company, Y Combinator.

Main themes

• Hacker News features
• comment formatting
• user customization
• platform limitations
• communication styles
• undocumented behaviors

What commenters say

• The removal of certain characters, such as emojis, from titles and comments is seen as a bad feature by some users.
• The use of emojis and other visual symbols can be beneficial for illustrating complex ideas, but their removal can hinder communication.
• Some users appreciate the removal of emojis, seeing them as a deterrent to meaningful conversation.
• The lack of markdown features, such as lists, is a limitation of the platform.
• Custom colors can be set by users with sufficient karma, but the options are not well-documented.
• The platform's undocumented features and behaviors can be discovered through experimentation and exploration.
• The use of user.css can help users customize the site's appearance to their preference.
• The official formatting documentation may not cover all available formatting options.