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One key difference is that HN can be seen as "startup news" not "tech news". This is a much tighter niche, which reduces the appeal to certain demographics. It also means that if HN starts down a "slippery slope" that it starts from a point further away from base, giving more time to adapt/confront it.


Would discussions of top ten movie lists, politics and excessive meta-discussion qualify as starting down a "slippery slope"?


It's not as niche-focused as many people (including myself, until last week) think it is.

pg has said the focus of the site is "stuff that's interesting to the intellectually curious."

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=466881


Originally, HN was actually called "startup news". The niche was much tighter than what it is now, but it's still relatively tight.

I feel that this is only a matter of time though.




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