Hyperlinks generalize to showing that three or more stories are related, and allow annotations (by accompanying text) to show the nature of the relationship. Here, I can make clear that the thread to which I post this reply links out to an article that refutes the article linked out to in the link
All right, I see the downvotes, so let me ask a question: what other technical means do people have in mind? Today's existing technology allows any of us to show relatedness of any URL to any other URL by posting the link and accompanying that link with explanatory text. What other technology would require less human thought about how to show that two (or more) recent threads here on HN are related?
As an example, could I ask for a demonstration of relatedness between my post above and any part of the HN guidelines?
Perhaps the submission form could use a "related stories" field if you're submitting a response to a previous story or something?
Thanks for the specific suggestion. Along those lines, on this and other forums I've often wondered how technically feasible it is to mine the database as a submission is received, so that the user submitting a new article obtains a notification like "This submission looks very much like . . . " showing links to previously submitted articles that by titles (or keywords in full text) seem to be about the same subject. That would allow the user to
a) decline to submit the new link altogether,
b) indicate which previous links are related (as you suggest)
c) merge into one or another existing thread,
or
d) perhaps some other action that doesn't immediately come to mind.
But that still requires human thought by the programmer of the forum, at least, and most likely by the submitter as well. Sorry about the snarkiness above, but that's where the snarkiness came from--technical solutions fail if users don't have the commitment to make use of them.
I believe that is called a hyperlink, as here.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=726421
Hyperlinks generalize to showing that three or more stories are related, and allow annotations (by accompanying text) to show the nature of the relationship. Here, I can make clear that the thread to which I post this reply links out to an article that refutes the article linked out to in the link
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=726421
I have just provided to another HN discussion thread.
Hypertext is wonderful.