> Wrong. The guidelines aren't that clear on what hacker news is, but they're quite clear on what hacker news isn't.
The guidelines are not defining "hacker news" (or "not hacker news") at all. There is only a section which is called "What to submit" and both definitions (On-topic and off-topic) leave a lot space for interpretation. At the end it is really determined by the votes what is interesting to hackers (or the readers of HN) and what not. If something is breaking the rules, the mods would jump in - especially when an article is on top of the frontpage.
Actually I find those pointless "why is this on HN" comments a lot more off-topic than upvoted links (= interesting to more readers than the other options) that are not strictly computer- or startup-related.
People who want to dictate others what to post or upvote on HN and what not, should probably become mod or pg.
The guidelines are not defining "hacker news" (or "not hacker news") at all. There is only a section which is called "What to submit" and both definitions (On-topic and off-topic) leave a lot space for interpretation. At the end it is really determined by the votes what is interesting to hackers (or the readers of HN) and what not. If something is breaking the rules, the mods would jump in - especially when an article is on top of the frontpage.
Actually I find those pointless "why is this on HN" comments a lot more off-topic than upvoted links (= interesting to more readers than the other options) that are not strictly computer- or startup-related.
People who want to dictate others what to post or upvote on HN and what not, should probably become mod or pg.