see IMO it isn't. HN is an online community. Same as forums, and BBSs were. I don't think they were social media really - they're online spaces that form around a shared interest, where Facebook etc were originally online spaces that augmented a real world community.

But we're a long way from that now.

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liotier 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> HN is an online community. Same as forums, and BBSs were.

That is the very definition of social media.

"Social media I like" vs. "Social media I don't like" isn't valid categorization.

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dust-jacket 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

if you think social media just means any space online with multiple people in it, then I guess we just disagree on what social media is.

Is the linux kernel mailing list social media? was usenet?

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close04 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> if you think

What do you think social media is? What are the clear criteria that make something social media, or make it not social media?

If you know HN is not social media that you have a clear demarcation of what is.

	▲	chownie 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Not that user but I don't think this is as difficult as you're making it out to be? On Reddit, Instagram, Tiktok et al I can create a community on that platform. I can get find other people into Booktok, I can join the Rowing subreddit, I can get into Knittinggram or whatever. Posters expect roughly their micro-community to see their posts, users expect to see their micro-community's posts. On hacker news I see the same community everyone else does. If HN was a vBulletin forum with threads posted for links it would function almost 1:1 the same, I guess all you'd need to change is a modification for making threads bump on vote behaviour instead of latest-post.
	▲	dust-jacket 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I said so above. I think originally they were "online spaces that augmented a real world community". Even twitter, you mostly started by following people you knew or had heard of. I get that this isn't at all where we are any more. And y'know, everyone's gonna use terms to mean whatever they want. I'm fine with that. I guess I just think its pointless if "social media" means "anything online where people can write messages"

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IAmBroom 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That is not what they said. Strawman fallacy, and you still refuse to define the term.

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2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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IAmBroom 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Well, it's A definition, which is more than the opposing side has yet to offer.

I knew someone who described everything he didn't like in politics as "socialism". He literally couldn't define "socialism" when pressed; it was always a circular reference to the current irritant.