The only similar thread that I could find was from 2012 (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3996652), so I decided to start one. Please share your all-time favorite HN threads here.
I was going to post this standalone, but will post it here. I was recently reading the Hacker News initial reaction to Facebook acquiring Instagram in 2012:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3817840" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3817840</a><p>One of the commenters says it will be the equivalent to Google buying YouTube. To which another commenter replies "bookmark this comment, see you in 2022". And here we are:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3818055" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3818055</a>
Probably still ranks #1 in ultimate HN comebacks:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35079" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35079</a>
I sell onions on the internet. <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19728132" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19728132</a>
I keep coming back to read this every once in a while.
I've been saving interesting threads and comments in my favorites (they are in my profile). Many old-timers are surprised that Hacker News has a favorite feature. Comments are tricky: to favorite a comment you need to first show its details by clicking on the timestamp.<p>Now, for the links. A lot of freelancing and consulting advice threads have a good discussion and stories from the trenches:<p>Starting as a consultant - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21189801" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21189801</a><p>Getting paid - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4817193" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4817193</a><p>Common mistakes - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21728436" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21728436</a><p>Lessons learned from a veteran developer - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25658216" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25658216</a><p>Branding and marketing - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23282278" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23282278</a><p>Hiring a personal assistant - <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29336234" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29336234</a><p>Other pretty cool and fun threads:<p>Crowdsourced HN book recommendations: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28595967" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28595967</a><p>Product recommendations from HN: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29353980" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29353980</a><p>What 4chan thinks of HN: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6747373" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6747373</a>
The comment thread about a developer of a high level of mathematic ability who wrote and maintained a widely used piece of software used for backups. Someone commented something to the effect of “He gave up on solving Millennium problems to write backup software”.
I looked on my hard drive to see what I saved and there were two, other than the usual technical saves:<p>Why Hacker News Thinks PHP Won Something (2009)<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=438871" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=438871</a><p>Unfortunately the article appears to have been scrubbed from gilesbowkett.blogspot.com and is not on the Wayback machine. Basically, the article trashes PHP and Hacker News, which I thought was interesting.<p>and<p>The company that has a monopoly on ice cream truck music (2020)<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24744879" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24744879</a>
Fred, that coworker who never stops refactoring:<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24120359" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24120359</a><p>I will never stop being Fred, but this thread keeps me from confusing my drive to refactor with what the company actually needs. Particularly these comments:<p>- <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24120713" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24120713</a><p>- <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24121018" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24121018</a>
It's a job posting, but I think about Dear Future Homejoy Engineer near the end of every year.<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8794956" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8794956</a>
The famous Alan Kay appearance:
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11939851" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11939851</a>
The Dropbox launch post is a great example of why you shouldn’t take (particularly dismissive) comments here too seriously. (This isn’t to dunk on any of the contributors there - but just a reminder that we’re all fallible and have biases)<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8863</a><p>On that note, PG coining “middlebrow dismissal” isn’t a very elaborate comment, but is a term that has entered a few people’s lexicon.<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4726248" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4726248</a><p>Both the article and the comments here have some good life info (“I Thought I Would Have Accomplished More Today and Also Before I Was 35”)<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24316725" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24316725</a><p>Also, check out the top posts all time, and top comments all time.<p><a href="https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=&sort=byPopularity&type=story" rel="nofollow">https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...</a><p><a href="https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=&sort=byPopularity&type=comment" rel="nofollow">https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...</a>