The least typeable URL on this list
news.ycombinator.com/user?id=yourname is a question mark, an equals sign and a domain most people spell wrong on the first try. It is, in other words, the perfect candidate for a QR code — there is no realistic scenario where someone types it off a badge correctly.
The audience makes it worth doing. HN usernames carry weight at hackathons, founder events and technical meetups, where "I'm the one who wrote that comment" is a real introduction. A code on a badge or a slide turns that into a profile someone can actually open.
Keep it minimal. HN is a plain site and a plain code suits it: black, square modules, no logo. It's also the most reliable combination for a small badge print, which is where these usually end up.
Every Hacker News code made here is static: the link lives in the pattern itself, with no redirect service in the middle that can expire, start charging or go down. There's no account, no watermark and no scan limit — download it once and it keeps working for as long as the Hacker News link behind it does.