Poll HN: Should we encourage "AMA" threads here? | Hacker News Reader

Poll HN: Should we encourage "AMA" threads here?

14 pointsErrantX12 comments

The other day greyman wondered whether AMA threads on HN might be a good idea (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1400815)

Joshu pulled off a very successful AMA here the other week (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1356140) and I believe another one happened in the past too (can't find link at the moment). I've wondered about doing a QA for my field (computer forensics) because it often generates interest/emails when I talk about it.

On the other hand meta threads and "Ask" posting is often discouraged.

AMA's have proven very interesting on Reddit and I figure here we would get:

- even more interesting people

- better/insightful questions (or at least a better signal/noise ratio)

Hence, a brief straw poll.

I divided up Yes into two categories, purely for the fact that people may prefer a limited interest field.

View on HN

Compared to Reddit, I would hope we also get fewer trolls and fakes.

Intellectually curious? Wouldn't every profession/work have some level of advice for startups/entrepreneurs based on experiences? I believe stories from a full time fisherman will be as helpful as a stock-trader's - to anyone who wants to learn. Same may hold true for a drug dealer. (imho)

Why filter it with "intellectually curious"? How do we define 'intellectually curious'?

Same way we filter normal submissions (I used the same terminology as the guidelines).

Your examples (stock trader / fisherman / drug dealer) strike me as pretty interesting careers, outliers if you will - they would flag my intellectual curiosity :)

I did an AMA on Reddit and have to admit it was pretty fun. As a programmer, I was a bit disappointed that the questions were not very technical or in depth for the most part. I'd bet that the AMA questions would be a lot more relevant here.

I enjoyed joshu's AMA, and I expect I'd get lots out of other AMAs. But I wouldn't want them to dominate the front page. I think no more than one or two a day. I'm not sure how to ensure that.

> I think no more than one or two a day

I was thinking that number a week, max, myself actually :)

(in realistic terms I suspect the community is generally much smaller/niche here than on HN so there are just not the diverse numbers to have so many AMA's)

I, too, fall into the "possibly one or two a week max" category. Over at Reddit, they seem more like a vehicle for narcissism than anything else. Once in a great while a person with a genuinely interesting profession comes along, but the signal to noise ratio over there is nowhere near where I'd like it to be.

Allowing AMAs is a slippery slope toward TILs and YSKs.

Please no! I come here to learn. I go to reddit for AMA and jokes and other ways to waste time. This is Hacker News not chitchat time.

Any reasoning (genuine curiosity)?

I fear HN would turn into reddit.

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