Understanding User Profiles

The Hacker News MCP Server provides comprehensive access to user profile information, allowing you to research contributors and track their activity across the platform. Each Hacker News user maintains a profile that includes their submission history, comments, karma score, and optional biographical details. This data can be invaluable for identifying subject matter experts, understanding community influence, or researching specific contributors.

Accessing User Profiles

To retrieve a user profile, simply ask your AI assistant for information about a specific Hacker News username. For example, you might request "Show me the profile for user [username]" or "What has [username] been posting about recently?" The server will return structured information including:

• Username and account age - When the user joined Hacker News
• Karma score - A measure of community recognition based on upvotes
• About section - Biographical information if the user has provided it
• Submission history - Links to stories and posts the user has submitted
• Comment activity - Recent comments and discussions they've participated in

Exploring Activity History

User activity history reveals patterns in what topics someone engages with and how they contribute to discussions. You can explore both submissions and comments to understand a user's areas of expertise and community involvement.

Viewing Submissions: Request to see what stories or links a user has submitted over time. This reveals their interests and what content they believe is valuable to share with the community.

Analyzing Comments: Access the comment history to see which discussions a user participates in and what perspectives they offer. Comments often provide deeper insights into a user's expertise than their submissions alone.

Practical Applications

Finding Experts: Identify knowledgeable contributors in specific domains by examining users who frequently comment on relevant topics with high-karma contributions.

Research Verification: When evaluating information or perspectives, check the credibility and history of the user who posted it. Long-standing users with substantial karma often provide more reliable insights.

Community Understanding: Analyze how active contributors engage with the platform to better understand community norms and what types of contributions are valued.

Trend Tracking: Follow specific users who consistently surface interesting content in your areas of interest, effectively creating a curated feed based on their activity.

Tips for Effective Use

Focus on users with established histories when seeking expert opinions—account age and karma provide useful signals about community standing. Remember that Hacker News values thoughtful, substantive contributions, so users with high karma have typically earned it through quality participation rather than volume alone.