Hacker News now runs on top of Common Lisp (lisp-journey.gitlab.io)

Article summary

Hacker News now runs on top of Common Lisp, specifically using the SBCL implementation, for performance reasons. The site's underlying technology was previously based on the Arc dialect, which was implemented on top of Racket. The change has also led to the removal of paging for long threads. The site's codebase is not open-sourced due to anti-abuse measures that would be compromised if made public.

Main themes

• Hacker News technology stack
• dark mode and customization
• user stylesheets and browser settings
• font size and readability
• RSS readers and embedded browsers
• customization and technical debt

What commenters say

• Some users are requesting a dark mode feature, which could be implemented through user stylesheets or browser settings.
• Others argue that user stylesheets can break website functionality and are not a reliable solution.
• The use of AI-driven style derivation may provide a robust and automatic way to implement custom stylesheets.
• Some users prefer to use RSS readers with embedded browsers, which can have limitations in terms of customization.
• There are differing opinions on the ideal font size for readability, with some users finding the current font size too small.
• The idea of a CSS translating proxy server or API wrapper is proposed as a potential solution for customization.
• Some users believe that the browser should provide more built-in features for customization, such as user stylesheets or font size adjustment.
• Others argue that such features would add complexity and technical debt to the site.