A compelling title that is cryptic enough to get you to take action on it (ericwbailey.website)

by mooreds 147 comments 293 points
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147 comments

[−] ninjaranter 35d ago
A comment complaining this was obviously written by an AI, and the standard template is a tell. A philosophical observation about what that says about the state on online discourse. Link to the Dead Internet Wikipedia page.
[−] foltik 35d ago
Wistful nostalgia about the golden age of HN from an account created 11 months ago.

Bonus mention of a pg essay which the commenter clearly only read the title of.

[−] fenomas 34d ago
Curmudgeonly comment from someone trying to sound like a wise elder about how actually all this was the norm even in the days of Usenet.
[−] jantissler 35d ago
An unrelated comment added as a reply to the current top comment to get more views
[−] Mordisquitos 35d ago
A response appreciating the comment above for saving ones time.
[−] tsumnia 35d ago
A bad faith response that attempts to derail the conversation from the original article.
[−] hperrin 35d ago
A snarky and insulting joke where the above commenter is the butt of the joke, calling attention to the bad faith response.
[−] euroderf 35d ago
A modest plea for civility.
[−] cyanydeez 35d ago
Off topic summary of the discourse regarding a pet peeve that litterally no one has.
[−] irishcoffee 35d ago
A reminded that the riff raff can go to the “other site” when these threads occur.
[−] dmittman 34d ago
A haiku comment,

Describing its own structure,

Hoping for upvotes.

[−] mkarliner 34d ago
A celebration that wit and good humour still exists on HN.
[−] acidtechno303 34d ago
a passive-aggressive attack from a self-righteous hilltop
[−] freehorse 34d ago
[flagged]
[−] dijksterhuis 34d ago
a comment that only make sense to people with showdead turned on
[−] mckirk 35d ago
Nitpicky reply questioning the adherence of OP's comment to HN guidelines.
[−] bavell 34d ago
Self-aware meta commentary on HNers breaking HN guidelines to cite HN guidelines.
[−] seamossfet 35d ago
This is why I built [AI slop tool]. [Self promotion link to my vibe coded startup with no users]
[−] rwoerz 34d ago
A reference [1] in an attempt to go one level of self-reference further.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47727104

[−] pauke 34d ago
An xkcd link summarising large number of all points discussed
[−] andromaton 34d ago
A post by dang about related posts:

A Technical Blog Post by a Big Name Expert - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5326511 - March 2013 (189 comments)

A compelling title that is cryptic enough to get you to take action on it - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43219556 - Feb 2025 (112 comments)

A Hacker News thread where every comment describes itself - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38451203 - Nov 2023 (74 comments)

A request for others to add to the list.

[−] andromaton 34d ago
A post thanking dang for his tireless moderation work.
[−] andromaton 34d ago
A post agreeing, adding a personal anecdote about a gentle nudge received years ago that the commenter still thinks about.
[−] acidtechno303 34d ago
A comment trying to get a response from dang regarding the recent viral Sam Altman thread
[−] mellosouls 34d ago
A passive-aggressive reminder that link was already posted earlier in the thread implying you should have credited it:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47721995

[−] jasong 35d ago
A poor attempt at joining the convo too late because I don't browse /new like everyone else. No one upvotes, and I question my intelligence for the 3rd time today.
[−] joshstrange 35d ago

> Cherry-picked quote from the article cut off too early

Bad faith argument that could only be made by not reading further into the article or cutting the quote off before it answers the exact question/argument posed here.

[−] rolandog 34d ago
A suspiciously highly upvoted psyop disguised as lengthy diatribe authoritatively waxing poetic in a tone that conflates the thing that has been linked with everything that is wrong with humanity but that can be boiled down to empty platitudes that end up tiring the average reader and successfully prevents more people from engaging with the content.
[−] Eduard 35d ago
A comment at Hacker News which provides a nuanced critique and which gains plenty of upvotes as a lot of users agree to the comment's sentiment.
[−] zirkonit 35d ago
A comment based on the reading of the title that could only be conceived if the commenter didn't bother to click the article at all.
[−] mellosouls 35d ago
"A Technical Blog Post by a Big Name Expert" (2013)

http://bradconte.com/files/misc/HackerNewsParodyThread/

Discussion (589 points, 189 comments):

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5326511

[−] stevekemp 35d ago
An obvious attempt to insert a link into my own vibe-coded project, in the pretense it is either relevant or related.
[−] bryanrasmussen 34d ago
Since I haven't actually read the article I'm just going to note that the title obviously wasn't cryptic enough to get me to take action on it; I'm not saying this to brag, the brag is totally accidental like.
[−] cperciva 35d ago
A complaint about the quality of posts and the comments they elicit here, followed by an allegation that Hacker News is turning into Reddit.
[−] Karrot_Kream 35d ago
A comment making a subtle point about something discussed in the middle of the article that languishes near the bottom of the page because nobody read the full article.
[−] CephalopodMD 35d ago
A link to the HN discussion from when this was already posted here 6 months ago, possibly to be helpful, but also possibly as an attempt to admonish others for not knowing this is a repost.
[−] andromaton 34d ago
A highly voted comment that seems insightful if you don't know the domain but amateurish if you do.
[−] saaaaaam 35d ago
A schtick that is at least as old as the internet, revitalised for new audiences who think it is brilliantly original, to make the author look clever.
[−] beemboy 35d ago
A note from the original author, possibly even a minor nerd celebrity, expressing surprise at this making the HN page and gratitude for those that rediscovered and reposted it.