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Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator

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Re: Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator

#141

Post by throw_m239339 »

theoryofx wrote: post #20

One thing that I appreciate about dang, and PG before him, is their intellectual honesty and strong sense of ethics. On the face of it, HN should be terrible. It's a forum owned an investment firm as promotion for their business. But because HN was started by an individual with real values, and has been operated day-to-day by individuals that followed in his tradition, its been capable of unreasonable greatness and r…

I was there since around 2015 and the evolution of that forum and its population/opinion has been very interesting, to say to put it mildly...

Remember when the biggest disagreements were about ORM & Frameworks? I miss those days. I didnt even mind the discussion about the ethics of Uber or Airbnb, but now, now it is different, & not for the better.

Re: Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator

#142

Post by motohagiography »

you (few?) do one of the biggest jobs on the internet. it's been a bit of a vice, but sufficiently rarefied that it doesn't lower anyone for indulging it. thank you.

it's said that perfect means lacking nothing essential to its whole. I've often speculated about the mechanics behind it, but really, it's a product that I think achieves today what apple and a lot of others aspire to be, where it does something well enough that almost nobody stops to question how. even if - or especially, when - that's probably the most interesting question of all.

how do you replicate it? you can't. that's the point.

may the odds ever be in your favour!

Re: Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator

#143

Post by infecto »

roflyear wrote: post #38
theoryofx wrote: post #20

One thing that I appreciate about dang, and PG before him, is their intellectual honesty and strong sense of ethics. On the face of it, HN should be terrible. It's a forum owned an investment firm as promotion for their business. But because HN was started by an individual with real values, and has been operated day-to-day by individuals that followed in his tradition, its been capable of unreasonable greatness and r…

I really don't think that HN lets dissenting opinions thrive (well, not anything that is truly controversial but not clearly hateful). That may feel cozy but it's not a reflection of anything pure or good, imo.

I think it’s a tough balance because you want discussion but certain topics have diminishing returns.

Re: Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator

#144

Post by jszymborski »

Etheryte wrote: post #73
jszymborski wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Little ironic considering you're the second comment everyone sees on this thread at the moment.

A sample size of one doesn't really tell you anything in this context. HN definitely has a pretty heavy bias in some directions, it's mostly that the crowd that naturally flocks here tends to mostly agree on those topics, so you don't see conflict too often.

I feel like I often get into protracted discussions here in which I am defending a minority view, but I don't feel discouraged from doing so.

A huge part of that is that the tone is almost always civil and the arguments are typically in good faith.

Re: Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator

#145

Post by lordfrito »

xboxnolifes wrote: post #134
otterley wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you're not spending enough time reading the comments on controversial stories. Disagreement is alive and well on HN.

I disagree. People will frequently say that downvoting is not for disagreeing, but in every controversial thread dissenting opinions are quickly downvoted and frequently flagged. Some recover, but many die or end up pushed down into obscurity. Mildly controversial opinions sometimes survive and get discussion, but anything past that rarely get a reply and just get downvoted and flagged into oblivion. This isn't exact…

>> Disagreement is alive and well on HN.

> I disagree.

Head explodes

Re: Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator

#148

Post by infecto »

xboxnolifes wrote: post #134
otterley wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you're not spending enough time reading the comments on controversial stories. Disagreement is alive and well on HN.

I disagree. People will frequently say that downvoting is not for disagreeing, but in every controversial thread dissenting opinions are quickly downvoted and frequently flagged. Some recover, but many die or end up pushed down into obscurity. Mildly controversial opinions sometimes survive and get discussion, but anything past that rarely get a reply and just get downvoted and flagged into oblivion. This isn't exact…

I would also argue that shutting certain posts down early is what helps it thrive. Maybe you lose some value of topic but you gain the ability to discuss other things in depth. You also prevent pollution of discourse.
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