0 sats \ 3 replies \ @gmd 5 Mar 2022 \ parent \ on: Stacker News UX, Features, & Improvements Discussion bitcoin
  1. Is tilde so bad? Thinking back to the old Web1 days when we all had them in front of our usernames cs.university.edu/~username etc
  2. Emails after sat-upvotes seems like over-kill, but emails after comment replies might generate faster discussion turnaround and encourage more dialogue.
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21 sats \ 2 replies \ @kr OP 6 Mar 2022
Let's flip that first question around. What makes the ~ symbol so good?
  • Is there any benefit that comes from it?
  • Does the benefit outweigh the downsides mentioned above?
  • Why this specific symbol?
  • Is it in any way related to Stacker News/Lightning/Bitcoin?
  • Why not use ^*#)&%( or any of the other keyboard symbols?
I worry that adding in random symbols and features without direction or clear reasoning sets a bad precedent, and that Stacker News should instead opt for focus, intent, and clarity in designing new features.
Again, not to say we shouldn't have quirky features, just that they should be chosen and built with intent, and shouldn't detract from a user's experience with the site.
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @gmd 6 Mar 2022
I think it makes for a decent escape symbol to use for parsing out markup language, and most other characters don't play as nice in URLs.
You do bring up good points that would actually push me to vote to revert back to "$" over tilde (looks like an S in stackernews, perhaps even with a lightning bolt through it, sort of culturally appropriates the dollar sign back from USD) if using a symbol.
/s/subname is also good as many people familiar with reddit may find that intuitive.
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @kr OP 6 Mar 2022
Yeah I think the $ has some really good ties to Stacker News, sats, and the concept of value transfer. It's actually the only symbol on the entire keyboard that denotes value, and sending/receiving value over the internet is exactly what Stacker News users do all day.
Seems like most people on here had strong negative reactions to it for its fiat connotations, but if I had to pick among the keyboard symbols, I'd choose $ too.
All things considered, my top choice would still be no symbol at all in the main menu bar with the s/subname URL structure as you mentioned for it's familiarity.
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