The Register
Ranked 2 of 3 tech news sites by recommenders
Entertaining, fast tech news with irreverent headlines that many readers enjoy. Critics say its tone is tabloid-like and its headlines clickbait.
Entertaining, fast tech news with irreverent headlines that many readers enjoy. Critics say its tone is tabloid-like and its headlines clickbait.
22 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 59%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Witty headlines and charming irreverent tone
“I still laugh at theregister headlines to this day.”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Boffins bet on quantum computers, AI supers to solve fusion fuel dilemma” “It's part of their charm.”
Comment from 11 Nov 2025 on Hacker News
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Tabloid tone and clickbait headlines
“The Register is a tech paper that is modelled on various British tabloids”
Comment from 24 Jun 2026 in “Boffin claims Microsoft's "quantum leap" is invalid due to "basic Python errors"” “I knew The Register is a low quality ragebait tabloid”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Autonomous cars, drones cheerfully obey prompt injection by road sign” “They’re always more about the ‘tude than substance.”
Comment from 28 Dec 2025 in “'PromptQuest' is the worst game of 2025 (trying to make chatbots work)” - Comment from 11 Nov 2025 on Hacker News
Quality has declined recently
“before the suits showed up and murdered it”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: Hacker News, but every headline is hysterical clickbait” “they've gotten significantly worse over the last year or two”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Linux security mailing list 'almost unmanageable'” Lacks objectivity, relies on press releases
“The Register is arguably misrepresenting the story by omission”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “Autonomous cars, drones cheerfully obey prompt injection by road sign” “where objectivity is something to eventually strive for”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Gnome dev gives fans of Linux's middle-click paste the middle finger” “They basically re-report press releases.”
Comment from 12 Jul 2026 in “Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country's electricity”
Other tech news sites people recommend
The two most recommended other tech news sites, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoronix | 14 | 9 | 61% | 9 | — | — |
| The RegisterThis page | 13 | 9 | 59% | 9 | — | — |
| XDA Developers | 7 | 7 | 50% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
20 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the site is by and large taken way more seriously than it deserves to be.”
“They basically re-report press releases.”
“I still laugh at theregister headlines to this day.”
“The Register is a tech paper that is modelled on various British tabloids”
“The register article is better.”
“The Register is great at these:”
“theregister seems to show it to computer/tech folks”
“they've gotten significantly worse over the last year or two”
“Good on El Reg for doing some actual hands on fact finding.”
“I knew The Register is a low quality ragebait tabloid”
“The Register is arguably misrepresenting the story by omission”
“The Register stooping this low is the only surprise here”
“having rapid updates from BleepingComputer and El Reg is a great way”
“where objectivity is something to eventually strive for”
“I think it's unfair to associate that with clickbait.”
“sometimes they go a bit too far with their inflammatory remarks”
“They’re always more about the ‘tude than substance.”
“before the suits showed up and murdered it”
“It's part of their charm.”
“Rampant clickbait everywhere.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.