They're crap, but I'd prefer we keep with freedom of speech...
Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
61–70 of 141 posts
Re: Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
#62Ban TC?? no. Behave yourself.
this is total bullshit.
i don't remember Arrington ever claiming to be some kind of guardian angel of startups, and dole out his attention evenly and equitably. As with any other blogger, if Twitter interests him and his people right now, that's what they're going to talk about.
IF you don't like his blog, take your news from elsewhere. But ban TC?? Ridiculous.
Re: Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
#63You can ban all the sites you like, but it won't stop the decline of critical thinking on HN.
What do you mean?
Re: Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
#64You can ban all the sites you like, but it won't stop the decline of critical thinking on HN.
I am not sure what loss of "critical thinking" you are referring to.
I don't think anyone is losing mental marbles, nor do are stories getting that bad. (Admittedly, I couldn't stand the stories a month or two, but things seem to be on the upswing again). The discussion is usually interesting for any highly-moderated story on the front page.
Ironically, questioning the mental prowess of other posters without mentioning a rationale for it contributes to a decline in quality of the conversation taking place. Maybe you could be more specific?
Re: Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
#65I think that people should just start flagging posts they don't want to see.
If people are already doing that, then it could mean the HN has grown beyond what the early adopters consider to be the critical mass.
Re: Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
In that case, why is valleywag banned? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=160704 Collective screening of linkbait/spam articles is useful IMHO.
because it's banned, I just had this great nostalgic moment. "Remember when ValleyWag used to clog news.yc with crap?" Glad those days are behind us.
You haven't provided nay supporting arguments for what makes VW different from TC or CH.
Re: Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
#67You can ban all the sites you like, but it won't stop the decline of critical thinking on HN.
I am not sure what loss of "critical thinking" you are referring to. I don't think anyone is losing mental marbles, nor do are stories getting that bad. (Admittedly, I couldn't stand the stories a month or two, but things seem to be on the upswing again). The discussion is usually interesting for any highly-moderated story on the front page. Ironically, questioning the mental prowess of other posters without mentioni…
There's no loss of "mental marbles," that implies insanity rather than a lack of a faculty most people don't have to begin with.
Are individual people losing it? Probably not.
But I point out logical inconsistencies where I see them, and when people miss the big picture (which is often) of a given problem or discussion.
Take the once-a-week discussion of pro-formal ed/anti-formal ed. It's always the same, the same ego-stroking and ego-defense, and most people are clearly working purely off their own biases, without even the benefit of having read any of the professional criticism / praise of the systems in place in the US, or learning theory, or theory of achievement, so on & so forth.
They talk to talk, since they are convinced of their own genius. This is "expressing yourself" at its worst.
Commentors are unfamiliar with basic rhetorical principles - calling certain things 'ad hominem' when they are genuinely relevant observations that have to do with the person, claiming that facts are pure and all that must be considered, falling prey to obvious bids for trolldom (time_management), etc., etc.
All of the above has, in my opinion, increased a lot in the past year & even last 6 mos. (Not to mention the shifting of content towards more & more regurgitated 'productivity porn,' tired old pablum that you could get from any 20-year-old Anthony Robbins tape or 60-year-old Peale book, or even older classical advice manuals.)
The alternative is that I'm suddenly a much deeper thinker than I was, and I don't think that's the case.
Re: Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
#68They're crap, but I'd prefer we keep with freedom of speech...
I'm against banning TC (and think this poll doesn't really matter too much in any case, as it's entirely up to pg), but how would TC being banned from HN impinge on their freedom to say what they want? 'Freedom of speech' does not imply that anyone has to transmit what you say.
Re: Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
#69Instead of a ban, we should allow users to create filters. I would filter TechCrunch and codinghorror.
There are a number of Yahoo Pipes filters set up ready to go. Useful if your gateway into HN is through rss.
Re: Poll: Should we ban TechCrunch?
#701) I had a comment censored after (politely) correcting the author on a technical fact in one of his posts.
2) Yes, the quality of this blog is definitely declining and taking on more of a gossipy tone.
But no, I would not ban TechCrunch. Sometimes they have interesting stuff. Instead I would focus on trying to find better methods for HN to attract and mold a better community. That's the real challenge.