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Ask HN: Why are “Google memo” links being flagged and hidden?

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Re: Ask HN: Why are “Google memo” links being flagged and hidden?

#11

Post by SamReidHughes »

krapp wrote: post #7
ratsmack wrote: post #2

Is Hacker News deeply rooted in Silicon Valley, and isn't it well known that Silicon Valley do not share conservative views? I think the answer can be derived herein.

>and isn't it well known that Silicon Valley do not share conservative views If Silicon Valley didn't share conservative views, there wouldn't be so many articles and comments defending said memos, and the views expressed therein. Certainly, what's "well known" about HN and SV seems to depend on what set of cultural or political strawmen one wants to punch down. I've seen both described as wretched hives of leftist c…

Defending the memo does not require having conservative views.

Re: Ask HN: Why are “Google memo” links being flagged and hidden?

#13

Post by soared »

Personal opinions aside, they are technically against guidelines, as is this post.

> Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.

> Please don't post on HN to ask or tell us something (e.g. to ask us questions about Y Combinator, or to ask or complain about moderation). If you want to say something to us, please send it to hn@ycombinator.com.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Ask HN: Why are “Google memo” links being flagged and hidden?

#14

Post by soared »

notliketherest wrote: post #8
J-dawg wrote: post #4

Thanks for asking this. Here's another one that was posted and then disappeared without a trace: https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/6t1cpx/if_w...

Hackernews doesn't allow you to "downvote" submissions, but users with higher "karma" can flag posts, effectively giving the most active (or popular) users censoring powering.

I think it requires 750 or 1k karma, which isn't a huge amount. I'd image a decent percent (~20%) of users have flagging power.

Re: Ask HN: Why are “Google memo” links being flagged and hidden?

#15

Post by Bucephalus355 »

Google, to some extent, sanitizes the web of comments they do not feel should be on the web.

I have no clue how much this is done, but the best example is Glassdoor. I've had multiple friends post their Google interview reviews, some posting multiple times and getting in (to Google that is) on their 3rd try.

Those reviews have vanished from Glassdoor (for both people not hired and also the people hired). It is the most bizarre thing, and I tried so hard to find them after being challenged once to do so because I did not believe Google would delete them.

At first I thought it was Glassdoor deleting them, but that's not the case at all. Look up reviews for Amazon Web Services, you'll see they blatantly give answers to questions, list terms, and summarize how the interview cycles go, and those are all up for anyone in the world to see.

Re: Ask HN: Why are “Google memo” links being flagged and hidden?

#17

Post by notliketherest »

fav_collector wrote: post #12

Opinion pieces aren't taken kindly in these parts of the woods.

That's true. Opinion pieces manifest themselves in all sorts of ways on hackernews though, and it's only these high profile contentious debate pieces that get flagged, even in the face of overwhelming user engagement (see other comment). I argue that this topic merits special considering by the mods to remove the flag.

Re: Ask HN: Why are “Google memo” links being flagged and hidden?

#18

Post by krapp »

SamReidHughes wrote: post #11
krapp wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and isn't it well known that Silicon Valley do not share conservative views If Silicon Valley didn't share conservative views, there wouldn't be so many articles and comments defending said memos, and the views expressed therein. Certainly, what's "well known" about HN and SV seems to depend on what set of cultural or political strawmen one wants to punch down. I've seen both described as wretched hives of leftist c…

Defending the memo does not require having conservative views.

As the GP implies, either defending or denouncing it will get you sorted into one or the other camp.

Re: Ask HN: Why are “Google memo” links being flagged and hidden?

#19

Post by dunkelheit »

Bucephalus355 wrote: post #15

Google, to some extent, sanitizes the web of comments they do not feel should be on the web. I have no clue how much this is done, but the best example is Glassdoor. I've had multiple friends post their Google interview reviews, some posting multiple times and getting in (to Google that is) on their 3rd try. Those reviews have vanished from Glassdoor (for both people not hired and also the people hired). It is the mo…

I don't quite follow. So who deletes them in the end and how?

Re: Ask HN: Why are “Google memo” links being flagged and hidden?

#20

Post by jxramos »

I was surprised when any of it got flagged given that I'm pretty sure I read earlier posts on HN that spoke about sex or race diversity in tech. I remember getting into a few comment threads on some so I'm sure there's prior stuff in this arena on HN. I guess this one was just too taboo or something.
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