Show HN: HNRelevant – Add a "related" section to Hacker News

github.com

92 points by imadj 14 hours ago

It's been 2 years since the initial release [here](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36102610). The initial version was a very basic prototype which was not available anywhere beyond the GitHub repo. You had to install it as a userscript or load the extension manually.

Since then, it remained simple but better, new features include:

- Improved accuracy by also using comments to help gauge the topic of discussion and the right keywords.

- Published as plugin for more browsers: Chrome, Firefox (including android), and more recently Microsoft Edge.

- Support for narrow screens and mobile devices.

- Added preference controls.

You're here because you love interesting HN discussions but they're often buried away like hidden gems, so give it a try and let me know what you think.

cosmicgadget 20 minutes ago

I missed this the first time around, that is awesome. A lot of posts here really interest me but a lot do not, this is a great way of hopping between the former. Incidentally, I did something similar for blogs.

RugnirViking 10 hours ago

sounds like fun. Perhaps a little too much fun. This sort of algorithmic thing keeps people on social media all day. So be aware folks this can only lose you time working.

(no shade to you, OP. Seems like a cool idea, great that it exists. Just that if there were the option to turn this off on most social media I would probably take it)

  • imadj 9 hours ago

    It's harsh to compare this to social media personalized feeds when it's fundamentally different.

    > if there were the option to turn this off on most social media I would probably take it

    This extension has 'manual' mode which only show the search field by default and then you get to fetch results at your command. Very much like an embedded search engine.

    Its functionality is more like the book recommendations you come across on goodreads. It only shows when you visit a discussion you're interested in. The nature of this website by itself is quite different from other social media.

    But I understand where you're coming from and appreciate you raising awareness.

dan_voronov 5 hours ago

Big plus for supporting Firefox!

There is a compatibility issue with the "Modern for Hacker News. A redesigned web interface for Hacker News." browser extension (I use Firefox). If it is active, I do not see the block with related news.

Can this be fixed?

  • imadj 4 hours ago

    Interesting. It's ~likely possible.~

    I need to investigate what kind of mutations the other extension is doing to HN interface and figure out a way to be compatible with it on top of the native one.

    I opened a GitHub issue if you're interested in following the status there: https://github.com/imdj/HNRelevant/issues/24

    UPDATE: Based on initial look it seems that the 'Modern for Hacker News' extension completely restructures the DOM and uses its own class names. If someone have suggestions to be compatible with different designs, I'm down to do it.

    • cAtte_ an hour ago

      yep, as a user of Modern for HN i always wondered why they decided to implement it like this; it's not like it adds any crazy features (it's mostly aesthetic). as a result i'm unable to use other great extensions like this one along with it :(

      • imadj 29 minutes ago

        I'm thinking we can make it an overlay like a hamburger menu. What do you think?

        For users with native interface, it'd stay as is.

  • fvlasveld 3 hours ago

    I'm using Modern for Hacker News on Vivaldi (Chrome) and would be interested in this, too.

MrCoffee7 2 hours ago

It is not working for me on Chrome, even though I have the "Auto Pilot" option set on. What do I need to do to get it to work?

  • imadj 2 hours ago

    It shouldn't need anything other than the permissions requested on install.

    - Visit a submission page like this Show HN.

    - Check permissions for the extension. Maybe they were skipped on installation somehow.

    - Are you using other extensions for HN? they might obstruct this extension from integrating with the site.

somebehemoth 13 hours ago

This is neat. Seems to work on Orion iOS using the firefox extension. Great job.

  • imadj 11 hours ago

    Awesome to hear. Thank you for giving it a try.

insin 12 hours ago

Nice work, I love extensions which feel like natural... well, extensions of the target site.

smusamashah 4 hours ago

Thank you very much for providing it as a userscript. Most of the extensions can be just that. A simple user editable script.

mfkhalil 6 hours ago

This is cool. Love how well it fits in with the site. Will probably keep it on.

drsh0 13 hours ago

Installed and loving it! Super off topic but do you remember what font you used in the extension cover image (e.g on the chrome extension page)? I wasn't able to identify it elsewhere and it seems right up my alley.