[HN Gopher] Subreply - an open source text-only social network
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Subreply - an open source text-only social network
Author : lcnmrn
Score : 48 points
Date : 2025-07-20 18:46 UTC (4 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| PaulHoule wrote:
| Gotta say that (1) images greatly improve engagement on things
| like Mastodon and Bluesky and (2) I have the most fun on those
| platforms sharing photos that I took.
| chistev wrote:
| But there are no images here
| ramon156 wrote:
| ... hence the comment
| latchkey wrote:
| I've been keeping a list of features to build into a HN
| browser extension for years now and this is one of the top
| items on my list. One of these days I'll get around to it.
| chistev wrote:
| I wasn't complaining. I love that HN is text only.
| PaulHoule wrote:
| ... and what I post to Mastodon/Bluesky is different from
| what I post to HN
|
| https://mastodon.social/@UP8
|
| For instance, I post links to _phys.org_ a lot more and I 'm
| less likely to post a link to the paper because (1) Mastodon
| can't extract images out of the latter and (2) I get more
| replies like "this is over my head" from Mastodonsters
| whereas I think most of you might think you'd look stupid if
| you said something like that. On the other hand I rarely post
| links to _The Guardian_ to Mastodon because it can 't extract
| images from _Guardian_ articles.
|
| Bonus: if you look right now you'll see the user interface
| that I use to post to HN! [1]
|
| [1] permalink that documents the mysterious YOShInOn:
| https://mastodon.social/@UP8/114887102728039235
| latexr wrote:
| > I get more replies like "this is over my head" from
| Mastodonsters whereas I think most of you might think you'd
| look stupid if you said something like that.
|
| Not sure that's the reason. Or at least all of it. HN tends
| to value substantive posts and someone just saying "I don't
| understand this" doesn't add to the discussion and would
| likely be downvoted. On the other hand, I have seen people
| here say they don't understand _specific bits_ of a post.
| Those are actionable and advance the discussion, and tend
| to be upvoted and get replies.
| mbirth wrote:
| Yeah, this reminds me of old Reddit where people resorted to
| imgur and other image hosts before they introduced their own
| photo upload feature.
| PokemonNoGo wrote:
| Is that bad? Resorting to a dedicated party for rich content?
| I enjoyed reddit more when it was like that honestly.
| Business wise it is the wrong decision though.
| mbirth wrote:
| It's bad in that the media is completely disconnected from
| the posts. If the media provider you chose goes down,
| nobody will be able to see the stuff you've posted anymore.
| If that subreply server you're using gets taken down,
| you'll have lots of orphaned stuff on that media upload
| website.
| chistev wrote:
| I still love old Reddit
| cyberge99 wrote:
| https://old.reddit.com/
| chistev wrote:
| It's what I use. Normal reddit is atrocious.
| throwaway81523 wrote:
| I've never used Mastodon of Bluesky and I hate Twitter. I do
| feel pretty engaged with HN, and it is text-only. I'm not sure
| what makes "social media" different from a discussion board
| though, so I don't know whether HN counts. I do remember that
| github used to call itself social coding, which was one factor
| making me want to stay away from it.
| latexr wrote:
| HN has (or is missing, depending on your point of view) a
| number of features integral to (other?) social networks.
| Being text-only is one, but not having notifications for
| replies is a big one. Also no "boosts", "reshares",
| "follows", "blocks", ...
| stupidgeek314 wrote:
| > text only > emojis
|
| xD
| diath wrote:
| You probably want to pin requirements to specific versions of the
| libraries.
| Sirikon wrote:
| Trendiest post is from the developer saying "Mastodon is dead",
| four weeks ago, 12 replies.
|
| Sure bud.
| loloquwowndueo wrote:
| You make it sound like they claim subreply is the thing that
| might have killed mastodon. The full post is:
|
| Mastodon is dead. Most people have migrated to Bluesky or
| Threads.
| cyberge99 wrote:
| Thank you for the context. It's important and often
| overlooked.
| nathan_compton wrote:
| Two clicks into this and I say someone posting "Killing n** (free
| speech)" from a poster named "N*** killer".
|
| I am, in fact, pro free speech. But this is a bad look. I'm not
| even saying this is a problem with subreply. It is some other
| kind of problem. A problem with a subset of people who like free
| speech or something? I don't get it.
| shayway wrote:
| It's worth pointing out that the post in question was made in
| the past half hour amidst the wave of activity from HN. Not to
| say your point isn't valid, but I think this is more an example
| of trolls who will say anything and everything to cause anger
| and insult; it's not representative of those who believe in
| free speech, or the site itself for that matter.
| givemeethekeys wrote:
| Maybe it is a bot by other competing social networks.
|
| Such trolling hurts new businesses a lot more than old ones.
| averageRoyalty wrote:
| But that example has played out on every social media
| website, forum, etc once hitting critical mass. It's a bigger
| problem in society yes, but it's not just trolls. Trolls are
| the least harmful of the groups of people who will scream
| racial epithets online.
| latexr wrote:
| > I am, in fact, pro free speech.
|
| You can be pro free speech and still not condone hate speech,
| or libel, or doxxing, or a myriad of other problems.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech
|
| Free speech doesn't mean you can say literally anything in
| literally any context. Not, not even in the "land of the free".
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_the_Unite...
|
| Additionally, XKCD reminds:
|
| https://xkcd.com/1357/
|
| > A problem with a subset of people who like free speech or
| something? I don't get it.
|
| I don't think those people particularly care about free speech,
| they just want to be able to say whatever they want with no
| repercussions. The more of a "free speech absolutist" they
| claim to be, usually the worse they are. It's a common pattern
| to see those same individuals clamour for free speech in one
| post and then in another call for banning books or try to
| silence someone else.
| nine_k wrote:
| > _want to be able to say whatever they want with no
| repercussions_
|
| Rather, they want to be able to say anything to annoy people
| as much as possible, for the kicks.
|
| Verily, it's important to be able to say annoying things: try
| speaking about atheism or a different religion in a devout
| crowd (capitalism among the "left", climate change among the
| "right", etc). But the intention is important. The intention
| of trolls is to enjoy other people's discomfort, not to voice
| an important idea.
|
| Unfortunately, this is very hard to formalize.
| austhrow743 wrote:
| Makes sense to me to test out a new free speech platform with
| stuff more heinous than you would normally post. Canaries
| weren't chosen for their tough constitution.
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(page generated 2025-07-20 23:00 UTC)