Hacker News Convention

Research date: 2026-06-25. Parent router: docs/social-post-convention.md. Packaged asset: assets/social/hacker-news-convention.md.

Rules Vs Norms

Channel Profile

Audience expectation: Technically curious readers who reward original sources, concrete technical substance, and low-marketing framing.

Format patterns: Link submission with original title, Show HN, Ask HN, or substantive comments. HN guidelines explicitly say not to use generated text or AI-edited text in comments.

Length guidance: For link submissions, use the original title unless it is misleading or linkbait. For Show HN, keep the title factual. For comments, prefer human-written text; agents can provide notes or risk review, but the user should author the final comment.

Link, hashtag, and media norms: No hashtags. Prefer original sources. Avoid editorialized titles, linkbait, resubmission churn, and requests for upvotes or comments.

Tone: Factual, technical, humble, and specific. Avoid launch-copy tone.

Spam triggers: HN guidelines prohibit promotion-heavy behavior, soliciting votes/comments, deleting and reposting for attention, and generated text.

Source-safety risks: High risk for AI-authored comments, overclaimed technical novelty, and marketing language. Treat HN as high risk unless the user is posting a public original source or a real Show HN artifact.

Drafting Modes

platform_aligned: Provide a submission safety review, title recommendation, and human-author notes. Do not present AI text as ready-to-post HN comment copy.

creator_inspired: Suggest a terse Show HN angle and human-authored discussion prompts, while preserving the no-generated-comment boundary.

Publish Precheck

Sources Accessed 2026-06-25