Out of Curiosity: What Kind of People Use This "forum" (i Mean Hacker News)?
Key topics
The demographics of a particular online community are being called into question, sparking a lively discussion about who's really behind the keyboard. Commenters reveal a diverse range of profiles, from curious onlookers drawn to topics outside their expertise to seasoned veterans with nearly two decades of participation. While some lament the community's tendency to be overly pedantic and confident, others simply identify as "normal folks." A humorous exchange between a long-time user and a younger commenter highlights the community's age range, with some speculating that a sizable minority of users, particularly those focused on Python and machine learning, may be under 30.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
Active discussionFirst comment
27m
Peak period
15
0-6h
Avg / period
5.6
Based on 28 loaded comments
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Aug 26, 2025 at 6:35 PM EDT
4 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Aug 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM EDT
27m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
15 comments in 0-6h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Aug 28, 2025 at 9:41 PM EDT
4 months ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
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I would love to know where all the misplaced arrogance comes from.
You might be right that younger people are particularly interested in AI, but if I had to guess I would say HN skews older than other forums like Reddit.
I like it here because people seem to actually be open to the idea that tech might be good but are still critical when it sucks. Other places I browse (lemmy) are instantly against AI and big tech which is fair but less interesting to read.
I really enjoy when someone fresh out of college asks a question and a retiree engineer/technician/manager joins the discussion with personal knowledge. The insight and experience here, pending the AI slop takeover, is what you usually find only on very topic-specific forums.
The text-only formatting, culture of contributing to the conversation, and simplicity (read: not shiny and new), hopefully continue to keep out the cesspool of other internet at bay as long as possible.
I've been on HN for a long time, though this is my newer account to keep myself more anonymous.
I've loved the curiosity here, along with the fact that you often see high quality comments bubble up to the top of any article.