Mysterious titles aren't necessary linkbait. Not everything should explain itself right away—that follows from the principle of curiosity—and we've always taken the position that it's good for readers to have to work a little.
Mysterious titles are linkbait from the user perspective.
> Mysterious titles aren't necessary linkbait. Not everything should explain itself right away—that follows from the principle of curiosity—and we've always taken the position that it's good for readers to have to work a little.
The HN guideline speaks against 'linkbait':
Otherwise please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize.
While it does not specify what 'linkbait' means, I believe the HN guideline wants links to be informative about their content. What else?
I think of linkbait as attention-grabbing mechanisms that take advantage of people's reflexes, cognitive biases, tendencies to get riled up, and so on.
Clear, true title > mysterious title. In general, but according to the HN clickbait title rules as well.