7 ms·

Can you private message peeps on Hacker News?

14 points by trixjo 17y ago

prakash 17y ago
YC peeps can message each other, not open to everyone.
telemachos 17y ago
I don't think so. Some people put emails or websites in their profile.
dschobel 17y ago
No, IIRC pg asked once and some people said they didn't want yet another messaging system to check. Personally I think it would be great because a) not everybody remembers to leave contact information and b) you get the instant context and can forgo the "hey, I'm not a stalker but I thought you wrote something interesting on HN"
- trixjo 17y ago
  I agree totally. +1
- alecst 17y ago
  Having my news.yc and reddit lives linked to email would be chaos. The additional messaging system to check would be more convenient -- not inconvenient.
- GavinB 17y ago
  not everybody remembers to leave contact information This is really a usability issue. It might be more effective to make it clear what is and isn't private than to build an internal messaging system.
pclark 17y ago
email
rdl 17y ago
I would really like it, especially if it defaulted to "off", and you could set certain account age, karma, or karma-per-last-timeperiod thresholds for people to contact you. Even if messages just got forwarded on to email vs. a mailbox on the site.
- mahmud 17y ago
  The road to BBcode and smileys is paved with site-specific messaging and karmic business rules engines. Just add an email address to your profile, like everyone else who is interested in meeting new people.
cmelbye 17y ago
Something like this would be really nice, even if it's just something like how Wikipedia does it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EmailUser/Jimbo_Wales http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EmailUser/Jimbo_Wales (You'll need an account to visit that page.) It sends an email on behalf of the user, and the recipient can reply back to the user via email (the sender's email address appears in the From: field.) It works pretty well there, and there could be a karma threshold and a setting to disable it here on HN if it were to be implemented.
mattwdelong 17y ago
Those who want to be contacted should probably just leave their email address or preferred method of contact. It takes just as much effort to use an email client as does using a messaging system; the only difference is one would be checked on a regular basis, the other, not so much. Plus, as mentioned, people don't want yet another inbox to check. For those who don't drop a link to their homepage or list their email address, I just assume they're not interested in communication.
- dschobel 17y ago
  You can make the inverse argument that people not interested in a messaging system could just not use it while giving those who want it the context + convenience of a native message box.
  - mattwdelong 17y ago
    True. The option to turn it off would be very nice, if not essential for a lot of people. But I am just pointing out the fact that I have missed opportunities because of messaging systems on other sites. I would have responded almost immediately had the same message came to me in the form of email. Its the result of me forgetting to check 20 different messaging systems I have on various forums/communities - there are just so many to check, and I can't check them all each day and thus some get ignored. I guess to each there own, but on another note maybe someone wants to solve this "checking in on message systems of online communities" problem. Could be the disqus.com of messaging systems.
- NathanKP 17y ago
  I would add my email address to my profile if there was some way to build in spam protection such as re-Captcha's mail hide tool: http://mailhide.recaptcha.net/ http://mailhide.recaptcha.net/
  - jhancock 17y ago
    My primary email address and several secondary addresses are public in easy to find spots on the web, including my HN profile. All these addresses use gmail and I am not having a problem with spam.
ars 17y ago
No need for a private message area. But it would be nice if yc would email people on your behalf. Most people do not think of adding their email address to the profile area.
- jmatt 17y ago
  Ya this might be a nice opt in option. It preserves privacy and keeps people from having to handle yet another messaging system too. My email happens to be a google talk handle. So that occasionally leads to contact.
- jacquesm 17y ago
  So, how would YC magically come up with that email address to use if you didn't put one in your profile ?
  - alanthonyc 17y ago
    I think he means the "About" section, which is publicly viewable as opposed to the "Email" field, which only the admins can see.
    - ars 17y ago
      Yes.
tptacek 17y ago
Put your contact info in your profile, check the profiles of people you want to talk to, and get on with your life. =)
wglb 17y ago
I would personally not like to see this. Let's not.

Can you private message peeps on Hacker News?

14 points by trixjo 17y ago

Can you private message peeps on Hacker News?

prakash 17y ago

YC peeps can message each other, not open to everyone.

telemachos 17y ago

I don't think so. Some people put emails or websites in their profile.

dschobel 17y ago

No, IIRC pg asked once and some people said they didn't want yet another messaging system to check. Personally I think it would be great because a) not everybody remembers to leave contact information and b) you get the instant context and can forgo the "hey, I'm not a stalker but I thought you wrote something interesting on HN"

trixjo 17y ago
I agree totally. +1
alecst 17y ago
Having my news.yc and reddit lives linked to email would be chaos. The additional messaging system to check would be more convenient -- not inconvenient.
GavinB 17y ago
not everybody remembers to leave contact information This is really a usability issue. It might be more effective to make it clear what is and isn't private than to build an internal messaging system.

pclark 17y ago

rdl 17y ago

I would really like it, especially if it defaulted to "off", and you could set certain account age, karma, or karma-per-last-timeperiod thresholds for people to contact you. Even if messages just got forwarded on to email vs. a mailbox on the site.

mahmud 17y ago
The road to BBcode and smileys is paved with site-specific messaging and karmic business rules engines. Just add an email address to your profile, like everyone else who is interested in meeting new people.

cmelbye 17y ago

Something like this would be really nice, even if it's just something like how Wikipedia does it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EmailUser/Jimbo_Wales http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EmailUser/Jimbo_Wales (You'll need an account to visit that page.) It sends an email on behalf of the user, and the recipient can reply back to the user via email (the sender's email address appears in the From: field.) It works pretty well there, and there could be a karma threshold and a setting to disable it here on HN if it were to be implemented.

mattwdelong 17y ago

Those who want to be contacted should probably just leave their email address or preferred method of contact. It takes just as much effort to use an email client as does using a messaging system; the only difference is one would be checked on a regular basis, the other, not so much. Plus, as mentioned, people don't want yet another inbox to check. For those who don't drop a link to their homepage or list their email address, I just assume they're not interested in communication.

dschobel 17y ago
You can make the inverse argument that people not interested in a messaging system could just not use it while giving those who want it the context + convenience of a native message box.
- mattwdelong 17y ago
  True. The option to turn it off would be very nice, if not essential for a lot of people. But I am just pointing out the fact that I have missed opportunities because of messaging systems on other sites. I would have responded almost immediately had the same message came to me in the form of email. Its the result of me forgetting to check 20 different messaging systems I have on various forums/communities - there are just so many to check, and I can't check them all each day and thus some get ignored. I guess to each there own, but on another note maybe someone wants to solve this "checking in on message systems of online communities" problem. Could be the disqus.com of messaging systems.
NathanKP 17y ago
I would add my email address to my profile if there was some way to build in spam protection such as re-Captcha's mail hide tool: http://mailhide.recaptcha.net/ http://mailhide.recaptcha.net/
- jhancock 17y ago
  My primary email address and several secondary addresses are public in easy to find spots on the web, including my HN profile. All these addresses use gmail and I am not having a problem with spam.

ars 17y ago

No need for a private message area. But it would be nice if yc would email people on your behalf. Most people do not think of adding their email address to the profile area.

jmatt 17y ago
Ya this might be a nice opt in option. It preserves privacy and keeps people from having to handle yet another messaging system too. My email happens to be a google talk handle. So that occasionally leads to contact.
jacquesm 17y ago
So, how would YC magically come up with that email address to use if you didn't put one in your profile ?
- alanthonyc 17y ago
  I think he means the "About" section, which is publicly viewable as opposed to the "Email" field, which only the admins can see.
  - ars 17y ago
    Yes.

tptacek 17y ago

Put your contact info in your profile, check the profiles of people you want to talk to, and get on with your life. =)

wglb 17y ago

I would personally not like to see this. Let's not.