It's gotta be a bug. Either that, or pg cracked under the strain of running the YC empire and implicitly announced, "You're all dead to me."
Like Sato in Karate Kid 2?
Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
61–70 of 139 posts
Re: Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
#62An example: First alpha release of Python 3.4 is out (python.org) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6155423 It probably linked to [1], but all we can tell is that it was something at python.org. The post was by plessthanpt05, an HN user for about two years with 838 karma. All of his/her posts from the past year or so are dead (about 60 of them). They don't appear to be a bot. Python 3.4.0a1 isn't something that wo…
Well, that user also posted over 60 links in the last year, while never receiving a single upvote or comment. I'm not sure why a flesh-and-blood user would still be posting after that.
Re: Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
#63Emailing info@ycombinator.com is the way to get these questions answered.
In the past year, I've emailed info@ycombinator.com about what I thought were perfectly legitimate and thought-provoking, yet not-exactly-in-tune-with-the-HN-hive-mind submissions getting axed off the front page by moderators, on more than one occasion. I haven't received a reply.
Re: Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
#64I'm considered "new" though I've lurked for a while before registering. There are some obvious cases (spamming, trolling, link-bait, off-topic, URL-shortening etc...) that leave little doubt to the reason, but it seems to be fairly well known that in fact no one really knows why some users get hellbanned while others, behaving far more egregiously (precluding above reasons), don't. I found this search enlightening th…
There's also a feature that slows down the site for a user under certain conditions. It's surreptitious crap like this that makes HN such a pain to use for a lot of us.
Tell me about it!
I edit my posts probably 3-5 times after making them to remove spelling mistakes, correct grammar, and make whatever changes are needed (quickly after posting).
This seems to trigger the slowdown after the second or third edit.
I also got hellband a year or two ago for submitting either a few links that made it to front-page - but then were flagged by people for political reasons, or posting a negative-Apple submit (the last non DOA submit) that might have upset a mod (titled "Brokerages Race To Feed Apple To The Muppets").
My comments show up, but all my submits are DOA.
Re: Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
#65Posting out of turn? That's a banning. Posting from the wrong browser window? That's a banning. Staring at my post? That's a banning. Post about banning? Oh, better believe that's a banning.
You forgot about The Forbidden Words . The automatic word filter that sentences comments and posts to death.
Is this real, or a joke? Seriously, I've been through the guidelines and faq, and there is no discussion about forbidden words and language, but this is not the first time I've seen a comment about forbidden words. It is not clear to me whether this is real or a meme/joke on here.
Re: Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
#66The mods seem to use it as their version of voting. I see perfectly fine stories banned all the time, consistently over a period of months. The same with users. Lots of times I'll look in a thread and see lots of dead people who don't know they are dead, posting interesting and useful stuff.
I've run forums and image posting sites before, the trouble isn't finding moderators from the community who will work for free. The trouble is finding ones that won't abuse their power.
Re: Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's also a feature that slows down the site for a user under certain conditions. It's surreptitious crap like this that makes HN such a pain to use for a lot of us.
Tell me about it! I edit my posts probably 3-5 times after making them to remove spelling mistakes, correct grammar, and make whatever changes are needed (quickly after posting). This seems to trigger the slowdown after the second or third edit. I also got hellband a year or two ago for submitting either a few links that made it to front-page - but then were flagged by people for political reasons, or posting a negat…
Jacobian (of Django fame) has also been banned for speaking out against sexism.
There must be some moderators/admins with axes to grind. I mean, it's friggin' Jacobian, for Pete's sake.
Re: Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have a set of clear rules (and not vague non-language like "don't write non-hacker, off-topic stuff") - AND ENFORCE IT, visibly. Unenforced rules aren't rules. Unclarified rules aren't rules. Whenever someone is penalized, point them to the specific rules they violated. And keep in mind that people make mistakes every now and then. Show largesse. This isn't a production line where flawed products are tossed out at th…
Hellbanning is necessary because of the low barrier to creating a new account. You are assuming that all users are well-intentioned and can be reasoned with, but this is simply not the case. Any sizable only community will develop a number of hard-core anti-social trolls exhibiting behavior which they can only undertake online (because in real life they would get their asses kicked on a regular basis). When said trol…
Serious trolls know about hellbanning and how to figure out whether an account they're using has been hellbanned. The primary effect of hellbanning is to drive away well intentioned new users who are unlucky enough to break some of the unwritten rules in their first few posts.
Re: Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
You forgot about The Forbidden Words . The automatic word filter that sentences comments and posts to death.
Is this real, or a joke? Seriously, I've been through the guidelines and faq, and there is no discussion about forbidden words and language, but this is not the first time I've seen a comment about forbidden words. It is not clear to me whether this is real or a meme/joke on here.
I wish it was a joke. I had a comment killed and un-killed (after emailing info), and a similar situation can be seen at (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6151626). Thankfully, at least the moderators are willing to fix such comments after being notified.
The sad part is that most discussions will have died down by then, and it depend on the poster to noticing the killing.
Re: Ask PG: Why is everybody hellbanned?
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's also a feature that slows down the site for a user under certain conditions. It's surreptitious crap like this that makes HN such a pain to use for a lot of us.
For how long have you run a popular discussion web site, and what measures do you take to reduce the increased snarkiness in extended exchanges? I'd love to hear how you solve the problem.
> what measures do you take to reduce the increased snarkiness
> I'd love to hear how you solve the problem.
You've exemplified the problem perfectly. Next time, don't comment.