undefined | Better HN

0 points015a1y ago0 comments

I mean, it does matter, and also HackerNews is the only bubble I interact with regularly that still holds on to the Twitter name like gollum and the one ring.

My understanding is that HN has rules against editorialization of headlines. This absolutely qualifies. The company is called X, the article calls it X. You don't have to like it, you don't have to use that name when you speak about the company, but editorializing the headline to name the company whatever the submitter wants is inappropriate.

0 comments

metabagel1y ago

"X" feels (to me) much more ambiguous than "Twitter".

If you say "Twitter", people know what you're talking about. If you say "X", are you talking about "X" marks the spot? Rated "X"? "X" the former project name for Paypal? "X" as in an unknown quantity? "X" is used in a lot of different contexts. I think if you want to use the name "X", then you should probably say "The company, X,".

Twitter is a verb, but when you use it as a noun, the listener instantly knows that you are talking about the company "Twitter". Plus, it's the name we are all familiar with.

tomtheelder1y ago

I have never heard anyone in real life call it X.

I do agree that the headline shouldn’t be editorialized, though. “X (formerly Twitter)” at most.

dang1y ago

I think there's a lot of variance between the different groups people here are part of and the different conventions they follow. That's broadly the case with HN actually.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse