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Comment by KevinMS | Hacker News Reader

I'm trying but I cant figure out the reason for this guideline. Or why, as a reader, I would care if a subject began with a integer? I know a lot of spammy submissions are like this on sites like digg, but if blocking spam was this easy, I could just filter my inbox on the exact phrase "viagra" and defeat all spammers worldwide.

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My guess is that the number is not meaningful for any reason other than providing a count.

30 Beautiful Web App Site Designs is no more meaningful than Beautiful Web App Site Designs, no new information or useful information is included in the number 30.

I think it does. The former tells us to expect a curated list of more than 29 but fewer than 31 eye-catching designs, at least in OPs eyes. The latter is just bleh, like a statement on a resume that reads "I managed a lot of money when I worked for a really huge company." Far more compelling is a line like "I oversaw a fund of more than $[Big Number] during my tenure as Investment Manager at [Company Name]." I think that's what's going on here.

I'm not saying that makes it right in the eyes of PG or in terms of the guidelines. But IMHO those 2 characters tell us a lot about what to expect on the other side.

I knew that comment was asking for downvotes. I'm sorry, I just disagree.

The number tells us to expect a list. That's information. Then it tells us that it's a long list, which in turn rules out the likelihood that it's one of those 3-point time wasters someone from Demand Media whipped together in the name of page views. More information still.

Numbered list are usually more appealing than normal essays, for a psychological reason. They lure the reader with the promise of content divided in short, skippable items, which are fast to read or even just scroll. That is why every glossy magazine now has the promise of "X ways to approach women", "X ways to lose weight" and the like.

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