Hijacking a 'show HN' thread to promote your own product is a very dangerous form of marketing. To you, it might seem like some edgy 'growth hacking'. But, frankly, it hurts your brand way more than it helps.

Thanks for the feedback. My impression is that HN usually likes to see alternatives and similar products in the space when one is shared. I know I do, when I see a Show HN or even a general product share here, and is often the top comment. This space in particular is sparsely populated (indoor exercise tracking without specialized sensors) so if it's interesting to people, it may be hard to find other similar projects.

That said, I wanted to comment on the usability activation energy aspect as much as the shameless plug.

I would generally agree that people like to hear about alternatives that are available in a similar field. It's possible that your initial post sounded more like a Plug and less like a Contribution, but that's a wording/tone thing. -shrugs- just food for thought