There was a positive discussion around Peter T. that was just removed. Can HN advise why it was taken down?
Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
1–10 of 14 posts
Re: Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
#2still there? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30238620
Re: Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
#3[deleted]
Re: Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
#4still there? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30238620
Only with direct link, you’ll notice it’s suddenly not on any of the first 10 pages despite being one of the most, if not the most, active threads during that time. I can keep clicking to see if it’s on the 20th or something, but if that’s the case, would be helpful for HN to explain that behavior as well to avoid us attributing it to maliciousness in the future.
Re: Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
#5still there? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30238620
Only with direct link, you’ll notice it’s suddenly not on any of the first 10 pages despite being one of the most, if not the most, active threads during that time. I can keep clicking to see if it’s on the 20th or something, but if that’s the case, would be helpful for HN to explain that behavior as well to avoid us attributing it to maliciousness in the future.
It (the post) received only 38 up-votes in the three hours it has been up.
Since story ranking for the front page appears to be in part based upon number of up-votes per unit time, it is very possible that only 38 votes over a three hour period was simply not a fast enough up-vote rate to keep it on any of the first X pages below the front page.
Re: Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only with direct link, you’ll notice it’s suddenly not on any of the first 10 pages despite being one of the most, if not the most, active threads during that time. I can keep clicking to see if it’s on the 20th or something, but if that’s the case, would be helpful for HN to explain that behavior as well to avoid us attributing it to maliciousness in the future.
It (the post) received only 38 up-votes in the three hours it has been up. Since story ranking for the front page appears to be in part based upon number of up-votes per unit time, it is very possible that only 38 votes over a three hour period was simply not a fast enough up-vote rate to keep it on any of the first X pages below the front page.
and more notably, it has more comments than points, which the HN algorithm takes as a very large "low quality" marker.
Re: Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
It (the post) received only 38 up-votes in the three hours it has been up. Since story ranking for the front page appears to be in part based upon number of up-votes per unit time, it is very possible that only 38 votes over a three hour period was simply not a fast enough up-vote rate to keep it on any of the first X pages below the front page.
and more notably, it has more comments than points, which the HN algorithm takes as a very large "low quality" marker.
Very helpful info on the low quality indicator. I would personally disagree but that’s my opinion and I can see how it would be useful running a forum like this. Any chance HN has made public any additional detail on forum behavior like that?
Re: Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
and more notably, it has more comments than points, which the HN algorithm takes as a very large "low quality" marker.
Very helpful info on the low quality indicator. I would personally disagree but that’s my opinion and I can see how it would be useful running a forum like this. Any chance HN has made public any additional detail on forum behavior like that?
They mentioned it repeatedly in the past.
Eg. It was suggested 14 years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=218141
They also don't like to talk about the algorithm in detail, because there's a lot of interest of gaming it for self promotion/spam.
Other variables: Eg. This one is probably flagged because of users like me: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30240159
Re: Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
and more notably, it has more comments than points, which the HN algorithm takes as a very large "low quality" marker.
Very helpful info on the low quality indicator. I would personally disagree but that’s my opinion and I can see how it would be useful running a forum like this. Any chance HN has made public any additional detail on forum behavior like that?
I don't think the exact threshold is public, but it often seems to kick in when there are more comments than upvotes. The term to search for is "flamewar detector". Dan has quite a few comments that offer a little more information: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
In general, the usual request is that questions like this one are better handled as an email to hn@ycombinator.com than as a new thread. Dan is surprisingly responsive and usually willing to provide details if you ask.
Re: Why was the Peter Thiel thread removed?
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Very helpful info on the low quality indicator. I would personally disagree but that’s my opinion and I can see how it would be useful running a forum like this. Any chance HN has made public any additional detail on forum behavior like that?
They mentioned it repeatedly in the past. Eg. It was suggested 14 years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=218141 They also don't like to talk about the algorithm in detail, because there's a lot of interest of gaming it for self promotion/spam. Other variables: Eg. This one is probably flagged because of users like me: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30240159
Appreciate the extra context from both of you. Lots of that makes sense - I’m glad I could get an answer on this. Thanks again.
(Regarding the post you linked to, I’m not going to dispute whatever’s going on in that thread, but I’ve had multiple comments removed over the years that were critical of YC specifically. That is neither here nor there and it’s been too long for me to recall specifics, though I do remember being thoroughly confused more than anything.
So, personally, that guy might be asking in bad faith but it is something to be diligent about, even if it’s just avoiding the perception, as his underlying logic holds up even if it’s clear he’s looking for a fight today.)
Best regards to both of you.