4 ms·

Ugh, dang, I think you do a superb job of moderating HN, but please have some sensibility for those of us in the UK. This guy, Dominic Cummings, is the equival

Ugh, dang, I think you do a superb job of moderating HN, but please have some sensibility for those of us in the UK. This guy, Dominic Cummings, is the equivalent of one of Trump's most rabid advisors. In his previous role (advisor to Michael Gove as Secretary of State for Education) he demoralised the entire teaching profession. I know that sounds hyperbolic but it's absolutely true - check out the TES or any other specialist press. He has now, absolutely mendaciously (again, check out the expert commentary on the £350m bus claim), swung us out of an economic union on which lots of HN readers' livelihoods depend - including my own. Already, every time we go abroad, the ATM reminds us that we are getting less for our earnings than we did a year ago. Already multinationals are closing warehouses and cancelling the contracts that keep us able to pay the mortgage at the end of the month. People reading this post are losing their jobs because of this guy's sixth-form philosophy. It hasnt happened in the US yet. Come back to this post in a year's time and tell me everything's ok under President Trump. I honestly hope it will be. But please have some tolerance for those of us who are losing out from 2016's wave of populism.

alva 10y ago
What has any of that got to due with the poster not meeting the expected level of discourse? Just because you are personally upset it does not mean that histrionic and aggressive posting is suitable.
- Doctor_Fegg 10y ago
  Is it suitable? Maybe not. Is it understandable? Yes, I think so. I believe it is kinder and fairer to understand commenters' motivation rather than holding them to cold rationalism at all times. (After all, understanding emotions rather than just rational self-interest is how we can move forward from Brexit and Trump.)
  - allenbrunson 10y ago
    so in your world, anyone who is genuinely aggrieved or genuinely angry gets a free pass to violate this site's civility rules. in that world, hacker news would have long since burned to the ground.
dang 10y ago
It's a procedural point, not a political one. Comments like the one above provoke inflamed responses from people who disagree with them, and vice versa, creating a cycle. Each time a provocation lands, the person who gets smacked (not really, of course, but that's what it feels like) feels justified in smacking back harder. On any divisive topic it's guaranteed that quite a few users will feel that way, so the threads are doomed unless we all contain ourselves in the first place. This isn't a bad restriction to impose, because ranty provocative comments are nearly always less substantive, and we want substantive comments here anyhow.
NotThe1Pct 10y ago
Oh the tolerant left. Everyone they don't agree with is "literally Hitler". Grow up buddeh.

alva 10y ago

What has any of that got to due with the poster not meeting the expected level of discourse? Just because you are personally upset it does not mean that histrionic and aggressive posting is suitable.

Doctor_Fegg 10y ago
Is it suitable? Maybe not. Is it understandable? Yes, I think so. I believe it is kinder and fairer to understand commenters' motivation rather than holding them to cold rationalism at all times. (After all, understanding emotions rather than just rational self-interest is how we can move forward from Brexit and Trump.)
- allenbrunson 10y ago
  so in your world, anyone who is genuinely aggrieved or genuinely angry gets a free pass to violate this site's civility rules. in that world, hacker news would have long since burned to the ground.

dang 10y ago

It's a procedural point, not a political one. Comments like the one above provoke inflamed responses from people who disagree with them, and vice versa, creating a cycle. Each time a provocation lands, the person who gets smacked (not really, of course, but that's what it feels like) feels justified in smacking back harder. On any divisive topic it's guaranteed that quite a few users will feel that way, so the threads are doomed unless we all contain ourselves in the first place. This isn't a bad restriction to impose, because ranty provocative comments are nearly always less substantive, and we want substantive comments here anyhow.

NotThe1Pct 10y ago

Oh the tolerant left. Everyone they don't agree with is "literally Hitler". Grow up buddeh.