# Hacker Smacker 14 Hacker News commenters recommended Hacker Smacker and 10 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Highlights chosen Hacker News commenters and marks others so you can scan threads faster and skip or filter their comments. Critics say it encourages glossing over diverging viewpoints. ## Why people recommend it - Makes threads faster to scan (3 comments): "I've really enjoyed having those writers that I like highlighted on this comment thread because it makes it very easy to scan it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47175333)) "This is a time saving browser extension, freeing me up to scan more HN threads." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47177182)) "It allows me to not waste effort." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48724731)) - Marks commenters to skip or filter (2 comments): "so that I can mark bots to avoid their content and mark good posters so I can filter just to theirs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47377180)) "I use https://hackersmacker.org to mark them with a red dot so I can skip those comments." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47664192)) - Shows context on repeat commenters (2 comments): "I searched a few comments I agreed using the "Ask HN: What are some iconic comments on HN?" thread" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47179022)) "when I see them comment elsewhere I now have the context for why I feel the way I do about them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47177119)) ## What people warn about - Encourages glossing over opposing views (4 comments): "The extension encourages glossing over diverging viewpoints, setting yourself up to dismiss quickly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47180641)) "So you're encouraging people to be in a rush and make more superficial choices" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47176618)) "So that you can not avoid the ones you don't like, huh." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47176715)) - Privacy concerns about commenter tracking (2 comments): "This is cool, but for folks concerned about privacy, even if the cached layer is anonymized" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47179906)) "I've found a couple HN users who have that have apparently been using it to follow and target me with comments whenever I post." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47623115)) - Poor contrast and distracting layout (2 comments): "Neat project, but please increase the contrast between the text and the background" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47178855)) "the layout shift when all the icons load in is very distracting" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47175470)) - Seen as low quality or slop (3 comments): "maybe this is not very high quality information in the first place" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47176693)) "Another step towards the Redditification of hackernews." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47172326)) "personally this seems like a slop project either way" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47174392)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Unhook](https://hackerapproved.com/p/unhook.md): 48 recommend - [SingleFile](https://hackerapproved.com/p/singlefile.md): 34 recommend - [Vimium](https://hackerapproved.com/p/vimium.md): 29 recommend - [Sidebery](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sidebery.md): 27 recommend - [Redirector Firefox extension](https://hackerapproved.com/p/redirector-browser-extension.md): 24 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Hacker Smacker", https://hackerapproved.com/p/hacker-smacker/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).