Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#1

Post by gus_massa » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:02 PM UTC

Yesterday appeared a story about "bacterial fossils" in a meteorite (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5356483). It got 238 upvotes (still rising) and was #2 for 1 hour (still in the first page).

It would be a very interesting result IF it were confirmed to be true.

Most of the comments explain that the authors had a history of similar claims that were not confirmed, that the journal where it appears is not very credible and that the evidence is not unquestionable. These are very big red flags for a groundbreaking new like this. And many of the comments are written by well known members of this community.

From pg: (4 years ago): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=429881

Sometimes. If the headline sounds preposterous, I sometimes check the comments to see if it has been locally debunked before clicking on the link to the article.

I still read the article to have my own opinion. But, please, before upvoting an interesting the article, read the comments to see if there is any possibility that it is true.

Re: Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#2

Post by waterlesscloud » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:18 PM UTC

I disagree. It was still an interesting story and the resulting discussion was both interesting and educational.

Suppressing that kind of discussion would make HN a less valuable place, not more valuable.

Re: Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#3

Post by wilfra » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:23 PM UTC

When I upvote something I'm just giving my approval for the content being on the front page, it doesn't mean I believe or agree with what is written. I missed that submission but if I had seen it and the comments were good, that would be a reason I would upvote it. Even if I agreed that the article was bogus.

P.S. I just upvoted this even though I disagree with you ;)

Re: Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#4

Post by jglovier » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:24 PM UTC

waterlesscloud wrote: post #2

I disagree. It was still an interesting story and the resulting discussion was both interesting and educational. Suppressing that kind of discussion would make HN a less valuable place, not more valuable.

I agree with you both. True - OP has a good point that it's worth getting the "community vibe" on a discussion/article to form a solid opinion of the subject. But also agree with you that interesting stories are worth sharing - regardless of how controversial they may be.

Re: Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#5

Post by djhworld » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:24 PM UTC

Hacker News is a user curated news site, not a forum.

Re: Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#6

Post by bazzargh » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:25 PM UTC

Sometimes I want to upvote not the article, but the discussion. The button doesn't let you show that nuance.

Re: Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#7

Post by dexen » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:25 PM UTC

In some cases, a wrong story is still worth the read, even if just for the comments on HN.

Btw., your link gives HTTP 404.

Re: Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#8

Post by polshaw » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:26 PM UTC

This is why i prefer the reddit model that a vote can be retracted/changed, it allows for a change in vote as the circumstances change. Which would also solve 'accidental downvote' occurrences.

Re: Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#9

Post by nmcfarl » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:26 PM UTC

I also disagree. Although not the rule, there are occasionally interesting articles who's comment threads have been hijacked, and are misguided, politically movitivated, wrong and/or the conversation is broken in some other way.

I'm up voting the articles, not their comment thread. (And as such I have no obligation to read the comments at all.)

Re: Ask HN: Please don't upvote stories before reading the comments

#10

Post by alanctgardner2 » Tue, Mar 12, 2013, 1:26 PM UTC

Posts like the bacterial fossils spark all kinds of interesting discussion, and are obviously of interest to HNers. Asking people not to vote for interesting articles that will prompt discussion seems counter-intuitive.

Plus, the Bad Astronomy post that is also on the front page probably wouldn't have made it there without the original post. I really enjoyed the follow-up, so I think the whole thing was worth it.