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Do you mean the frontend? In this case we choose to make a copy of HN because we really LOVE its retro frontend :)

stephenr 7y ago
No. I mean, lobste.rs is a complete working open source system that provides link sharing and discussion of said links, and is objectively better than HN’s functionality. Why didn’t you just install a copy of it?
- thegurus 7y ago
  Wow, to be honest we had no idea that it even existed. Thank you for the info, I imagine the idea was cloning: https://github.com/lobsters/lobsters https://github.com/lobsters/lobsters and setting up with DataTau domain and custom .css to make it feel like HN
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  Could you explain why you believe Lobsters is objectively better than HN's functionality?
  - stephenr 7y ago
    Downvotes require a reason; admin edits are logged for transparency; tagging; just to name a few off the top of my head.
    - DoreenMichele 7y ago
      I'm really not trying to derail the discussion. But this isn't a very compelling argument. Does anyone know of a good write up comparing the two?
      - stephenr 7y ago
        Then I’d suggest you need to pay more attention to the meta discussions on HN. Sanctioned downvote misuse creating an echo chamber has always been a huge complaint. For the case in hand it doesn’t even matter: HN is not open source, you can’t install it yourself so you can’t expect to mirror the algorithms for ranking etc. Lobste.rs is open source.
        DoreenMichele 7y ago
        That doesn't actually answer my question. Sanctioned downvote misuse creating an echo chamber has always been a huge complaint. That actually doesn't fit with my experience at all. I've been here nearly 10 years. (I mean it actually being an echo chamber. I'm aware people complain it is.) I have a lobsters account. I don't spend much time there. I was collaborating with someone on an HN clone when I joined lobsters. We talked a bit about some of the features on lobsters and whether or not to incorporate them into our site. We had already added a tagging system. The fact that you like lobsters better than HN is not some kind of objective measurement. I'm not adequately knowledgeable to give my own list or rebut your opinion, nor am I trying to start drama. I'm genuinely curious as to how the two compare in some meaningful way, beyond your short blurb, which boils down being to your opinion. In the interest of not derailing this discussion further, if anyone knows of a good write up, please let me know. My email is in my profile. Thanks.
        stephenr 7y ago
        HN downvotes effectively hide comments from view. HN policy is that "down vote for disagreement" is acceptable. That is literally a recipe for creating an echo chamber. That isn't an opinion its fucking logic.
        DoreenMichele 7y ago
        You are awfully quick to cuss at someone for merely having a difference of opinion about something that could be viewed as trivial in the grand scheme of things. Ironic given that you are decrying the evils of a forum supposedly becoming an echo chamber. I appear to be the only woman to have ever spent time on the HN leader board. I spent nearly six years homeless and was an active participant here during that time. I was quite open about being homeless. I'm firmly against UBI when UBI is a fairly popular idea around here. I'm critical of what I frame the "pro vax" crowd, which is a highly controversial position. I've been thrown off of multiple forums or simply left because it wasn't productive. Although I have a lobsters account, I barely spend any time there in part because of the gestapo like inquiry from the moderating staff concerning why the hell I had joined given that I don't yet know how to code. The moderating staff made it quite clear my nefarious interest in a coding forum as a non programmer combined with "unusual behavior" -- probably largely rooted in being a demographic outlier -- meant they absolutely had their eye on me. This made me feel distinctly uncomfortable in a way I have never felt on HN. It also suggests a dramatically lower tolerance for social differences than HN has. Your view of HN vs Lobsters and mine aren't remotely on the same page. And cussing at me about how you have logic on your side utterly fails to overturn the weight of my first-hand experience with both forums.
  - thegurus 7y ago
    Wow, it derived in a meta discussion about HN/Lobste.rs. We have been talking about implementing it, but our final decision is sticking to the original code and make it open source asap to make it better. Our main reason is that lobste.rs is written in Rails and we would have to learn a new framework to adapt it to our needs, while Python (Django) is more extended among the Data Science practitioners (main target of DataTau and potential contributors). An open sourced Python alternative may also be interesting for many people.
    - DoreenMichele 7y ago
      I was briefly involved with running an HN clone earlier this year. It had tagging and we talked about adding some of the features we liked from lobsters. Best of luck with your project.
- dpau 7y ago
  I've been looking for a good HN-type OSS for a long time. There have been a number of clones on Github but seem unreliable or unmaintained. Surprisingly, this is the first I've heard of lobsters, and it looks great. I really wish the project description actually contained the words "Hacker News" or even "Reddit" and "board/discussion board" so that people could actually find the project when searching for it!
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    The site was explicitly created by a dude banned from HN (an action since regretted by pg) so don’t hold your breath.

No. I mean, lobste.rs is a complete working open source system that provides link sharing and discussion of said links, and is objectively better than HN’s functionality. Why didn’t you just install a copy of it?

thegurus 7y ago
Wow, to be honest we had no idea that it even existed. Thank you for the info, I imagine the idea was cloning: https://github.com/lobsters/lobsters https://github.com/lobsters/lobsters and setting up with DataTau domain and custom .css to make it feel like HN
DoreenMichele 7y ago
Could you explain why you believe Lobsters is objectively better than HN's functionality?
- stephenr 7y ago
  Downvotes require a reason; admin edits are logged for transparency; tagging; just to name a few off the top of my head.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    I'm really not trying to derail the discussion. But this isn't a very compelling argument. Does anyone know of a good write up comparing the two?
    - stephenr 7y ago
      Then I’d suggest you need to pay more attention to the meta discussions on HN. Sanctioned downvote misuse creating an echo chamber has always been a huge complaint. For the case in hand it doesn’t even matter: HN is not open source, you can’t install it yourself so you can’t expect to mirror the algorithms for ranking etc. Lobste.rs is open source.
      - DoreenMichele 7y ago
        That doesn't actually answer my question. Sanctioned downvote misuse creating an echo chamber has always been a huge complaint. That actually doesn't fit with my experience at all. I've been here nearly 10 years. (I mean it actually being an echo chamber. I'm aware people complain it is.) I have a lobsters account. I don't spend much time there. I was collaborating with someone on an HN clone when I joined lobsters. We talked a bit about some of the features on lobsters and whether or not to incorporate them into our site. We had already added a tagging system. The fact that you like lobsters better than HN is not some kind of objective measurement. I'm not adequately knowledgeable to give my own list or rebut your opinion, nor am I trying to start drama. I'm genuinely curious as to how the two compare in some meaningful way, beyond your short blurb, which boils down being to your opinion. In the interest of not derailing this discussion further, if anyone knows of a good write up, please let me know. My email is in my profile. Thanks.
        stephenr 7y ago
        HN downvotes effectively hide comments from view. HN policy is that "down vote for disagreement" is acceptable. That is literally a recipe for creating an echo chamber. That isn't an opinion its fucking logic.
        DoreenMichele 7y ago
        You are awfully quick to cuss at someone for merely having a difference of opinion about something that could be viewed as trivial in the grand scheme of things. Ironic given that you are decrying the evils of a forum supposedly becoming an echo chamber. I appear to be the only woman to have ever spent time on the HN leader board. I spent nearly six years homeless and was an active participant here during that time. I was quite open about being homeless. I'm firmly against UBI when UBI is a fairly popular idea around here. I'm critical of what I frame the "pro vax" crowd, which is a highly controversial position. I've been thrown off of multiple forums or simply left because it wasn't productive. Although I have a lobsters account, I barely spend any time there in part because of the gestapo like inquiry from the moderating staff concerning why the hell I had joined given that I don't yet know how to code. The moderating staff made it quite clear my nefarious interest in a coding forum as a non programmer combined with "unusual behavior" -- probably largely rooted in being a demographic outlier -- meant they absolutely had their eye on me. This made me feel distinctly uncomfortable in a way I have never felt on HN. It also suggests a dramatically lower tolerance for social differences than HN has. Your view of HN vs Lobsters and mine aren't remotely on the same page. And cussing at me about how you have logic on your side utterly fails to overturn the weight of my first-hand experience with both forums.
- thegurus 7y ago
  Wow, it derived in a meta discussion about HN/Lobste.rs. We have been talking about implementing it, but our final decision is sticking to the original code and make it open source asap to make it better. Our main reason is that lobste.rs is written in Rails and we would have to learn a new framework to adapt it to our needs, while Python (Django) is more extended among the Data Science practitioners (main target of DataTau and potential contributors). An open sourced Python alternative may also be interesting for many people.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    I was briefly involved with running an HN clone earlier this year. It had tagging and we talked about adding some of the features we liked from lobsters. Best of luck with your project.
dpau 7y ago
I've been looking for a good HN-type OSS for a long time. There have been a number of clones on Github but seem unreliable or unmaintained. Surprisingly, this is the first I've heard of lobsters, and it looks great. I really wish the project description actually contained the words "Hacker News" or even "Reddit" and "board/discussion board" so that people could actually find the project when searching for it!
- scarejunba 7y ago
  The site was explicitly created by a dude banned from HN (an action since regretted by pg) so don’t hold your breath.