Ask HN: Danger or Fun? encoding secret messages into HN comments

3 pointsby smalltorch3 hours ago2 comments

pwg3 hours ago
You have rediscovered steganography (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganography). Nothing new here on that end.
> How will we know in the future that what we are replying to is not some bot with alter motive?
How do you know today that you are not doing the same? How did you know last year you were not conversing with some bot? Absent some tell to indicate "likely a bot" you have no way to know with certainty.
"On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_...)
- smalltorch2 hours ago
  Hmm, so maybe it doesn't even matter. As long as I'm completely blinded to what's going on. Although it could be considered kinda abusive if you thought you were talking to a real person all along.
hootz3 hours ago
We already get a ton of bots, but it's still better than other social networks. The only reliable way to get rid of LLM bots is to add friction to community participation, and that's not what we do here, so we get bots, and ones increasingly harder to identify.
- smalltorch3 hours ago
  What's the practical defense to prevent yourself from engaging in fake content?
  - pwg3 hours ago
    The same way you prevent yourself from engaging with trolls. Be alert, pay attention, when you get the sense you are engaging in fake content (or with a troll) then disengage.
    smalltorch2 hours ago
    Ok, but let's say in the future it becomes impossible to distinguish.
    I use your comment
    The same way you [prevent] yourself from [engaging] with trolls. Be alert, [pay attention], when you get the [sense] you are engaging in [fake content] (or with a troll) then [disengage].
    The same way you [prohibit] yourself from [involving] with trolls. Be alert, [take note], when you get the [hunch] you are engaging in [fluff] (or with a troll) then [withdrawal].
    That's enough data to encode.
    Does even matter? As long as the replies are sufficiently relevant, and I am completely blinded.
  - bediger40002 hours ago
    I would urge you to be more generous with upvotes, down otes, and article flags. You see something that might be "AI"? Down vote. See an "I wrote a holy book with Claude" article? Flag. Downvote all comments on it.
    This gets you in the habit of spotting slop, and sends signals to slop posters and HN moderation algorithms. If enough of us do this, we can clean up the joint.