FWIW, lately I've been keeping my notes as markdown files in a `~/wiki/` directory, and the most common links are now HN posts.
I find the HN discussion often adds a lot that will be relevant. For example, in `~/wiki/machine-learning.md` the section on specific LLM models is a nested bulleted list, with the top level the names of specific models (sometimes as links to their canonical landing package, and the bullets under each are usually very relevant HN post links, and links to official other pages for that model.
I only polish it when I really have to: the priority is to capture the info, because 15 seconds now might save me days or an entire endeavor later. But spending more time than that can discourage capturing info, or later make me resistant to doing a quick split of pages or sections that really should happen immediately (because I don't want to spoil the polish that I spent time on).
In Markdown, my current HN post links look like:
[HN, The Bookmarking Data Model Is Wrong for Highlighting (lgug2z.com),
2023-05-16](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35964335)
(My Emacs mode hides the URL part, and makes it look like an underlined blue hyperlink, with the remaining markup characters de-emphasized.)
It's a variation on the familiar citation format, which I also use:
In the rare case I want to quote an entire HN comment in my wiki (e.g.,, some super-useful insider scoop that might disappear), I'll just click to its page, select it and copy&paste the test with `>` characters, and then turn the header line into a Markdown link to the comment page URL.
Someday, I'll make a browser plugin for the copy&paste parts, while still keeping it very simple.
I find the HN discussion often adds a lot that will be relevant. For example, in `~/wiki/machine-learning.md` the section on specific LLM models is a nested bulleted list, with the top level the names of specific models (sometimes as links to their canonical landing package, and the bullets under each are usually very relevant HN post links, and links to official other pages for that model.
I only polish it when I really have to: the priority is to capture the info, because 15 seconds now might save me days or an entire endeavor later. But spending more time than that can discourage capturing info, or later make me resistant to doing a quick split of pages or sections that really should happen immediately (because I don't want to spoil the polish that I spent time on).
In Markdown, my current HN post links look like:
(My Emacs mode hides the URL part, and makes it look like an underlined blue hyperlink, with the remaining markup characters de-emphasized.)It's a variation on the familiar citation format, which I also use:
In the rare case I want to quote an entire HN comment in my wiki (e.g.,, some super-useful insider scoop that might disappear), I'll just click to its page, select it and copy&paste the test with `>` characters, and then turn the header line into a Markdown link to the comment page URL.Someday, I'll make a browser plugin for the copy&paste parts, while still keeping it very simple.