4 ms·

Not OP, but I’ll just observe that HN does have a recognisable political slant. Not everyone on it shares the views of that slant, but if you haven’t noticed it

by moomin 9y ago

Not OP, but I’ll just observe that HN does have a recognisable political slant. Not everyone on it shares the views of that slant, but if you haven’t noticed it’s presence, it’s probably because you do share those views.

ithilglin909 9y ago
I'm not sure how that's answering my question...?
dang 9y ago
That "recognizable slant" is in the eye of the beholder. On divisive issues, the community is simply divided, as is the society at large—or rather, the societies, since HN is a majority-international site. But that's not how it feels, because of this effect, which a reader pointed out yesterday: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_media_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_media_effect https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16751922 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16751922 I guarantee you that readers with opposite views to yours have opposite views of HN's "recognizable slant". Compare https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16397133 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16397133 to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16407769 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16407769. Or https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16134205 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16134205 to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16750306 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16750306. And so on.
- thraway180306 9y ago
  HN is a majority-international site Sorry, but is this claim based on pageviews, or the origins of the comments being posted? It's not like guardian.co.uk/international is in fact international news and opinion.
  - dang 9y ago
    I mean that no country has a majority of the users hitting HN. In terms of posting comments it's a bit more than 50% from the US. The point, though, is that people coming here are coming from many different countries, so opinion is more divided than it would be from just one. There aren't only political and ideological divides, but national, cultural, and linguistic ones. Understandably—because the information isn't available—people don't take this into account. That unfortunately leads to a lot of misunderstanding and even ill will.
    - thraway180306 9y ago
      It is heartening to know you do gather information of this granularity. Why not make it available?
      - dang 9y ago
        https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16633521 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16633521
        thraway180306 9y ago
        where HN community are based A vague question The numbers depend on how you measure 'user' and 'location' Gets a vague answer. My question was specifically about the commentariat not eyeballs. I don't think myself as worthy of an answer specifically to me. I think it would be for the best benefit of others if not buried in some obscure thread.

by moomin 9y ago

ithilglin909 9y ago

I'm not sure how that's answering my question...?

dang 9y ago

That "recognizable slant" is in the eye of the beholder. On divisive issues, the community is simply divided, as is the society at large—or rather, the societies, since HN is a majority-international site. But that's not how it feels, because of this effect, which a reader pointed out yesterday: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_media_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_media_effect https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16751922 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16751922 I guarantee you that readers with opposite views to yours have opposite views of HN's "recognizable slant". Compare https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16397133 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16397133 to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16407769 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16407769. Or https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16134205 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16134205 to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16750306 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16750306. And so on.

thraway180306 9y ago
HN is a majority-international site Sorry, but is this claim based on pageviews, or the origins of the comments being posted? It's not like guardian.co.uk/international is in fact international news and opinion.
- dang 9y ago
  I mean that no country has a majority of the users hitting HN. In terms of posting comments it's a bit more than 50% from the US. The point, though, is that people coming here are coming from many different countries, so opinion is more divided than it would be from just one. There aren't only political and ideological divides, but national, cultural, and linguistic ones. Understandably—because the information isn't available—people don't take this into account. That unfortunately leads to a lot of misunderstanding and even ill will.
  - thraway180306 9y ago
    It is heartening to know you do gather information of this granularity. Why not make it available?
    - dang 9y ago
      https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16633521 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16633521
      - thraway180306 9y ago
        where HN community are based A vague question The numbers depend on how you measure 'user' and 'location' Gets a vague answer. My question was specifically about the commentariat not eyeballs. I don't think myself as worthy of an answer specifically to me. I think it would be for the best benefit of others if not buried in some obscure thread.