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yrral
I've been a HN member for 11 years and 11 months to this exact day (I joined Christmas 2009).
Since then, I've lived in 6 different cities, 5 different timezones and worked on countless side projects. But all this time, HN has always been my most visited month after month.
I can always count on this place to keep me up to date with the latest tech trends and read discussions between reasonable people. Thank you all and especially dang for keeping discussions high quality. Especially as the quality of content on the rest of the internet deteriorates in the pursuit of virility.
It's a testament to you all that place feels the same as it did 10+ years ago.
kilroy123
Same here! My account is about the same age, and I've lived abroad all over the world.
Hackernews always helped me feel grounded and connected to the tech world and community at large.
mbroncano
Same for me, most probably this account is about 10 years old or so, but I’ve been lurking for even longer.
spurgu
Almost 9 years 9 months here, 5 cities, 4 countries, 3 timezones. :)
josh2600
Hackernews is simultaneously the most cantankerous and, imho, highest quality response on average public forum on the net. I absolutely love it here and sincerely appreciate this place. I feel like I’ve grown up on this site in so many ways.
I am continually humbled by not just the consistent quality of content but also the comments. It’s a testament to the moderators that this site has maintained this level of quality for so long.
I am thankful and happy to use thanksgiving as an excuse to express that notion.
silisili
It's definitely one of the only places on the internet where you can ask a question or insult something, and have either the creator or most renown SME pop out of nowhere to explain everything. Never seen anything quite like it in any other field of interest I have.
underdeserver
SME = subject matter expert?
Please spell out your abbreviations for those of us who are not familiar :)
phist_mcgee
They're talking about the most renowned execs at Sony Music Entertainment obviously..
acoard
Worse, at least in the government circles I work in, people pronounce "SME" as "smee." Almost like you're saying the first syllable of Smeagol. Good luck googling that.
valvar
This is why one should watch our for TLAs ;)
silisili
Everyone else seems having fun with it, but yes - subject matter expert.
beezischillin
This is the only platform I frequent where I read more than I comment and I learn a lot from people, too. I always come here to find interesting takes on things and I'm very rarely disappointed. A lot of times I delete my comments instead of posting because I worry ot might not be a good enough contribution and that I might sound dumb. That's very humbling.
Happy Thanksgiving!
prohobo
Hackernews works. I respect the mods and appreciate their work keeping everything running. We're living in increasingly volatile times, and while a lot of us are stubborn and hard of hearing - myself included - and people like Jonathan Blow like to hate on that, I still think this forum is a bastion for real discussion and understanding on all kinds of topics.
imran0
It's bizarre how many times I've come across someone just randomly hating on Jon Blow. I don't know what this guy does to attract such attention considering his relatively niche space of work.
prohobo
I'm not hating on him, I like him almost as much as John Carmack. I think he brings criticism on himself though because he's very negative on some topics, obviously not making friends. While he's doing his niche work he's shooting off strong opinions all the time.
someuname
If you go against the status quo you get flagged. It's just as shit as any other forum.
dang
If you post like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29342840 you certainly do! Do you really think you shouldn't?
codetrotter
HN is a great place to learn new things. And new words! This is the first time I’ve ever heard the word “cantankerous” :)
psalminen
Agreed. I can think of a few words off hand I learned here. Rejoinder has probably been my favorite.
didericis
Can often learn the most words from the magniloquence of cantankerous rejoinders.
I’m actually just as thankful for all the words I don’t have to learn here. This is often the first place I go to when I want to look for a distilled, “real” take on something by people capable of communicating with a lot of jargon but generally choose to speak simply and succinctly.
jonplackett
My proudest work-achievement of the year was getting to #1 spot of my favourite website with termsandconditions.game
I love HN. Happy thanksgiving!
ravenstine
Even the worst comments on HN are far better than the worst comments on Reddit or Twitter.
leemailll
HN is quite enjoyable to read, the only exception I observed is any topic political or someway a topic is diverted into that trench.
macrowhat
Don't worry I take care of that
skeeter2020
>> Hackernews is simultaneously the most cantankerous and, imho, highest quality response
In other words, exactly what the internet was and (for people like me) hoped it would continue to be. I don't think it's entirely the moderation (though that certainly helps) but somehow the conceptual integrity has been maintained and has a powerful shaping force.
I never completely agree with the content and opinions, but we all seem really well aligned with the rules of the game.
rnoorda
I was recently in a meeting with a colleague about some recent craziness that just finished. A lot of hard work, not fun, but ended up just fine. Then a few minutes later, I find out her daughter is in the hospital, so she's been back-and-forth there a lot, and her life is exponentially more crazy than my own. I felt terrible for complaining about my dumb issues. Work's hard sometimes, but it's so small in comparison.
The upside of the conversation is that I've felt extra thankful this year- I have friends/family/coworkers going through sickness, abuse, divorce, coming out of the closet, and more, and it puts my concerns in perspective. My life is far from perfect, but I'm grateful for what I do have.
I know very little about any of you personally, but I hope you continue to share your knowledge, wisdom, dumb anecdotes, and opinions both great and terrible.
tickerticker
Meta cognition right der
andrew_
Citizen of the Earth, member of the Cherokee Nation - let us not forget the spirit of the day. Everyone viewing this post has something to be thankful for. Be humble, be kind. Happy Thanksgiving.
theonething
> be kind
Likewise to you.
eric4smith
As an Immigrant to the USA, I did not get the whole thanksgiving thing. But then as I had a kid there, I warmed up to it.
Then now I've been living abroad for almost 10 years without returning home to the USA and if I did not see this post I would not even have remembered.
It's strange how we can so quickly adjust to holidays from different countries in just a few years -- while forgetting the ones back home so easily. And it's not because we were ingrained with them as kids, because while I grew up in Jamaica, I've totally forgotten the holidays there now.
I guess the main one is Christmas - it's hard to forget because of all the shopping - and that's kinda celebrated here in Asia too.
Anyway... Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
busymom0
In the same boat myself. I immigrated from india to Canada many years ago and since then, Christmas is the only one I can actually remember and usually celebrate. The other traditional ones like Diwali, Durga Puja, Holi, Eid etc are all forgotten to me unless my family reminds me of it.
bufordtwain
UK immigrant to the USA here. I heard about and celebrated Diwali for the first time this year (by going out for Indian food). I'm up for any and all holidays. Especially ones that involve food and no other commitments :) Happy Thanksgiving to all!
kingcharles
Hello fellow expat. The American holiday that amuses me is July 4th as that is basically "Fuck The British" day.
A4ET8a8uTh0
I can relate as I am an immigrant as well. I do not know if it is me getting older or the fact this year was especially eventful ( new title, first baby ), but, despite all the stuff going on in the world today, I feel especially thankful.
It is funny, because only few years ago I was more cynical about it and reduced all holidays to the 'feast' part.
thepasswordis
Happy thanksgiving, HN! Hoping for a safe and happy weekend for everyone, and praying for anybody daring to brave an airport! Good luck, and reminder: take as much leftovers home as you possibly can. Stuffing a Hawaiian roll full of cold turkey and cranberry sauce and eating it over the sink is a godly act.
For those of you who have to work to keep this giant machine running, just be aware: legally you are allowed to have one drink at your desk at all times during the holiday weekend. I don't make the rules.
gwill
"Stuffing a Hawaiian roll full of cold turkey and cranberry sauce and eating it over the sink is a godly act."
what i would pay for that experience while walking home after a night out.
unkulunkulu
I’m from another culture and this is a FIRST thanksgiving for me :)
This place has been not only enjoyable and absolutely blowing away for me because of all the great people who participated in key events for our industry and provided first hand perspective on something I only remotely heard of before.
But the warm inclusive accepting and encouraging atmosphere here is totally something else on the internets nowadays, thank every single one of you for that.
And a cherry on top, one of the book recommendations here changed my life in ways I could not have imagined, so you’re all very special for me, hope to be a part of this big and warm community for the years to come, thank you for your precious time and attention!
shill
Do you mind sharing the name of the book?
unkulunkulu
It’s Keith Johnston Improv. It really helped me to become friends with my subconscious, imagination, destroy some assumptions about myself, reframe my view of children, of course laid a stone into my decision to have a child (like this year as opposed to “eventually” or some day as I started interacting with children after reading the book), showed me a cool hobby and a new way to express myself as an event organizer. I have like 240 highlights and notes in it, more than in any other book by far, it was really a book written just for me at that point in life, you know? It also has a bit of a twist towards the end. Highly recommend! I’m 33 if this provides some context I dunno :)
unkulunkulu
Oh there’s also a TED talk by the man, you can totally see he is something else by watching it and comparing to other TED talks. Makes more sense of you read the book though.
aydwi
Speaking of books discovered on HN, this website is an excellent, distilled resource: https://hackernewsbooks.com/
1cvmask
The number one book this week is:
How to Destroy a Tech Startup in 3 Easy Steps
neoncontrails
Gosh, this was beautiful to read as an incidentally American person.
There's something truly healing in giving thanks, in calling attention to the countless small acts of kindness without which we wouldn't be where we are today. The holiday itself is so freighted with the weight of our history, but the premise seems good. It actually seems to me more humanist, less materialistic and less secular, than any other holiday on the Western calendar.
unkulunkulu
For sure, gratitude is healing both ways, holidays like this must really have a wide positive effect on communities and wellbeing of people. We need more of those :) Goingaroundstreetsandscreamingiloveyouateachotherday anyone? :))
wiether
I'll also be thankful for the book's name
mynegation
Thank you Dan Gackle for making this site my happy place, the only place on the internet that I read every day.
Thank you all for posting and upvoting the interesting stories. Thank you for replying to my comments. Thank you for upvoting them. Thank you for downvoting them, too. I come here to learn and be amazed at knowledge, creativity, and kindness.
tentacleuno
Dang is a bloody excellent moderator. I personally love his more talkative and eloquent tone, instead of the "can you stop", "just follow the rules or fuck off" attitude other moderators seem to have. He's a bit of a role model to me, so I do tend to try and watch how he moderates and blend it into my own style.
TravHatesMe
Didn't know his name, I was saying dang as in dangit in my head for year. Need to fix that to Dan-G.
acoard
For what it's worth, I still mentally pronounce it as "dang" (i.e. part of dang-it). I know it's not his name, but it's so perfect, I thought it had to be intentional, like a little joke.
randycupertino
Ha! I literally just commented almost exactly the same thing below to another post. I'm glad there's a few of us who appreciate his benevolence.
hackitup7
Dang is the traffic cop + mom + cool older cousin + prison warden that HN needs, and I think that's what's allowed this place to stay so great.
christophilus
dang does a dang good job. He’s corrected me a few times for posting unhelpful, snarky, or dismissive comments. His care and vigilance really makes this the best forum on the web that I’m aware of.
rsj_hn
dang good egg, confirmed.
Happy Thanksgiving!
randycupertino
I always like how even when people are so cranky and rude to him because they're complaining about whatever they disagree with, he's always so respectful and thoughtful back. It's rather amusing to see a mod rule via benevolent kindness instead of like a petty HOA president :P
benjaminwootton
I always assumed dang was an Asian name. Didn't realise it was a Dan G :-)
cghendrix
Same!
newbamboo
Knowing his name is Gackle I still suspect he is of Asian descent. Because Asians are cool. They have western names if they are mixed. Nothing at all wrong with that.
missedthecue
As someone who has been rapped across the proverbial knuckles by dang for making unnecessarily combative or snarky comments, I too want to thank him for making this a great place.
rwbhn
Hear, hear!
Happy Thanksgiving, all. Hope you are able to spend time with family and friends.
ericd
Definitely, thanks dang!
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hereforphone
Happy Thanksgiving. Please remember that regardless of the "difficulties" the western world is facing now, you have it better than almost everyone on the planet. I've been to some of the poorest countries on earth in war and peace. Never take anything for granted. Please be safe, and be thankful.
relwin
My Thanksgiving Bullet Enumerated List:
1) I'm thankful my elderly parents and in-laws are healthy and survived the worst of the pandemic.
2) I'm thankful new relatives are healthy and thriving (who doesn't adore babies?)
3) I'm thankful my immediate family is OK. Zoom-schooling and masking is not ideal but we adjusted and adapted.
4) I'm in awe of the medical professionals who withstood the brunt of the pandemic and continue to provide for our well-being.
5) And the technologists that support the medical professionals -- the those who build the tools, design the scientific instruments, operate the equipment, push the tech to incrementally do more -- all this seems like magic but is comprised of late night debugging, inspired insight, that blood-sweat-beers workpersonship that keeps society chugging along.
nickpp
I am not American, but I give thanks today that USA exists. Because, for all its failings, it still is such an inspiration for how things can be great in the world and how a dream for a future in which we are so much more than we are today - can exist.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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I have been really thankful for hackernews. This place has been full of great knowledge and people.
I really appreciate the efforts of the people who are running this platform.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING