> Except when they consider the original title "click baity" and change that too.
The HN guidelines (edit: which are at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and linked at the bottom of every page) say not to use the original title when it is misleading or linkbait. How could that be clearer?
Do we judge every case correctly? Good lord no. That's why we change things when people point out our mistakes. The community contribution here is considerable, so the best way to complain about a title is to suggest a better one.
The guideline also explains why titles can't be automated in the way you suggest: the software would have to identify what is misleading or linkbait. If anyone can show us such software, believe me, no one would use it more eagerly.
My opinion on what is linkbait or misleading is often not the same as yours. But that's fine, that's why you're the mods.
My titles have been changed so many times (in both directions), that I just decided to always use the original title, and let you do your mod job and change it according to your judgement.
Do the HN guidelines also say to always use the original title unless it's misleading or linkbait too? I hadn't actually been aware of that -- where do I find these guidelines? I'm not actually sure. If I had known that, it would have spared my energy in coming with titles I thought were more informative only to have them, as a rule, changed back.
Thanks for your work!
I just found the Hacker News Guidelines you mention by googling -- previously I hadn't been aware they even existed, so didn't know to look for them. I see they do say to ordinarily prefer the original title. I am not sure how people find out about these guidelines, are they linked to from somewhere on HN that I'm missing? It might make a lot of sense to include a link to them on the 'submit' form.
The guidelines are linked on the bottom of every single page of HN (edit: except the submission page itself!) but I guess that's the part that nobody reads. Maybe they should be more prominent in the submission flow.
The HN guidelines (edit: which are at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and linked at the bottom of every page) say not to use the original title when it is misleading or linkbait. How could that be clearer?
Do we judge every case correctly? Good lord no. That's why we change things when people point out our mistakes. The community contribution here is considerable, so the best way to complain about a title is to suggest a better one.
The guideline also explains why titles can't be automated in the way you suggest: the software would have to identify what is misleading or linkbait. If anyone can show us such software, believe me, no one would use it more eagerly.