3 ms·

Okay, I will rephrase it.

• dang 11y ago
  Invoking a generalization about "the HN crowd" as a rhetorical device in an argument isn't really legit. You're as much part of that "crowd" as anyone, and such generalizations are mostly just bias (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10889615 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10889615), which explains why the comments that diss the community routinely contradict each other.
  • kelukelugames 11y ago
    Gender and race issues frequently get flagged to death. Doesn't that take a collective? For example, elephantinthevalley got killed and reposted multiple times.
    • dang 11y ago
      Of course, but there are multiple collectives. On hot divisive issues, both sides routinely get flagged. Neither side is "the HN community", though each sees the other that way. That's not objective; it's a cognitive bias, and it leads people to get angrier at each other and at the community because they feel the community is against them. In reality, on most issues where society is divided, HN is also divided, with a few exceptions (like mass surveillance) where there's a fairly clear skew.