I do understand and sympathize with the motivation, I'm not sure if that's in keeping with what the mods are hoping to accomplish on HN. The guidelines are quit

I do understand and sympathize with the motivation, I'm not sure if that's in keeping with what the mods are hoping to accomplish on HN. The guidelines are quite clear on what's appropriate: > "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Ideological or political battle or talking points. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic." While the question of what is politics or (even what is appropriate) for HN can be thorny and not always clearly demarcated, actively working against what the mods and the community as a whole are working towards might very well help weaken the fragile strengths HN currently enjoys. It's tough, because I think there are a lot of important topics that need discussing; however, not every forum is well-suited for such discussions. What makes HN valuable for a lot of members is, in part, that there is some curation by mods and members going on. While you mention only showing content so "people don't miss out on discussions", encouraging discussion on the topics can all-too-easily spill over into other threads. I also think it's questionable whether people are really missing out: many political threads continue to be active even when falling off of the front page. I'd love for people to be able to discuss everything reasonably, calmly, and rationally, giving everyone the benefit of the doubt and engaging in good faith. A lot of the social cues and reinforcements that encourage this off-line aren't present on HN by its very nature. If this type of discussion is truly what you want, there are plenty of places online where one can find it. Members sometimes mention they value the opinions of those on HN in particular, that they aren't necessarily present on other fora. One of the reasons for that, in part, is that many on HN are here because of the forum it currently is. Changing that environment can all too easily change the fauna that populate it. Anyway, that's likely more than what you were expecting :) (and Pascal† would likely have something to say about it, too). And you may very well disagree. I encourage you to use HN search to find what 'dang and 'sctb have commented on the subject. They have a lot of experience viewing what happens on HN, what their goals are when "tending the garden", and how they go about doing that, and both because it's interesting, and whether what you're looking to do works with or against those goals. † https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/04/28/shorter-letter/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/04/28/shorter-letter/