Ask HN: What should I do with meet.hn?

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Perceived Purpose and Value

  • Original intent emphasized small groups or 1‑1 meetups, especially while traveling, rather than big events.
  • Some find 1‑1 meetings hardest to initiate without a concrete “reason”; others enjoy meeting interesting people for its own sake.
  • Several see meet.hn as most useful as a lightweight way to find nearby HN readers or locals when visiting a new city.

Bootstrapping Users and Visibility

  • Classic chicken‑and‑egg: many cities show only one or a few users, so people hesitate to engage.
  • Suggestions: periodic “Meet HN” threads on HN (similar to “Who’s Hiring”), quarterly reminder posts, or a dedicated /meet route to list local meetups.
  • Ideas to auto‑match or nudge nearby users: random pair emails, flash meetups (“coding at café X for 4 hours”), or email notifications for events within a radius.

Meetup Formats and Community Building

  • Experiences from 2600, LUGs, etc.: success depends on consistent date/place, reliable organizers, clear communication, and visible proof that events keep happening.
  • Many stress the need for local “hosts” or stewards; most people will attend but not organize.
  • Format ideas: weekly hangs, structured “what are you working on?” sessions, lightning talks, PechaKucha/Nerd Nite‑style talks, or virtual topic‑based meetups that may later lead to IRL.
  • Warnings about no‑shows; charging a small fee (possibly refunded to attendees) may improve commitment.

Contact, Privacy, and Identity

  • Pain point: many profiles only list GitHub or lack clear contact info, making outreach awkward.
  • Proposals: opt‑in email chains, simple built‑in forums/boards per city/country, or direct‑message tools tied to HN usernames.
  • Strong concerns about linking real‑world identity to HN handles, especially for those with controversial opinions or OPSEC worries; some want separate meet.hn identities.

Technical and UX Feedback

  • Requests: multiple locations per user, better city clustering (e.g., whole metro areas), an API, support for ActivityPub/ATProto.
  • Bug/UX issues: location resolution changes broke older city URLs; some users can’t get added due to unclear profile‑text instructions.
  • Suggestions for integrations: browser extension to show a meet.hn badge next to HN usernames, or an HN “proxy” site doing the same.

Skepticism and Limitations

  • Some view it as a solution searching for a problem, given existing meetups and the introverted nature of many HN readers.
  • Others argue the core idea is sound and that simply keeping the site running, clarifying its value, and lightly reminding HN periodically might be enough.