but here you can't blast readers with a newsletter signup modal

Gah, I hate the internet on this timeline.

Make it a thread on X

Who says that HN is not a great source of outrageous humor?

WHO has been saying a lot of controversial things lately.

It's greyed out and hard to read.

If you use Firefox, Reader View is pretty nice.

I hadn't thought of that (though I do use FF Reader to avoid ads), though here I was thinking of a writer selecting a blogging platform.

I guess it can be. To me it's more for calling attention to a current event (api shutting down, breaking changes at a service, privacy concern, etc). Kind of like a PSA. Using it as a blog post feels inappropriate to me.

But checking the guidelines and FAQ, there doesn't seem to be anything to actually imply that it can't be used that way.

HN is like a blog, except that you don't have final cut.

So it's an immutable and non-fungible blog.

modulo the trust you have in the admins and hosts, yes.

Not really, I treat it more like a forum.