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That has not been my experience. I have often written lengthy comments that simply explained my view on certain topics, and within a few minutes those got flagg

by aviv 8y ago

That has not been my experience. I have often written lengthy comments that simply explained my view on certain topics, and within a few minutes those got flagged which rendered them invisible to others. This place is like Reddit in that regard, when it comes to silencing non mainstream opposing views. I've been here 10 years now, and it's gotten progressively worse in that aspect.

shawn 8y ago
I read through your comment history to try to find some examples. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16928482 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16928482 There’s a recurring pattern: people ask you to back up what you say, and then you respond with “I won’t do that.”
- aviv 8y ago
  And my comment there stands. It's gotten worse since then, instead of downvotes I simply get flagged and my content disappears. No point.
  - yorwba 8y ago
    There's also no point in posting that you wont post because of getting downvoted and flagged, because that post will also get downvoted and flagged. If you make a controversial claim backed up by sources, you will get negative reactions from people who doubt the validity of those sources. If you make a controversial claim and refuse to provide sources because people would doubt their validity, you'll get negative reactions even from someone who might have agreed with you, because that's just rude.
  - dmichulke 8y ago
    Save your important points in a blog post or at least a local text file and c+p them where appropriate. I'd be interested in understanding your point if view but as it stands I have nothing to work with.
dwaltrip 8y ago
The contrarian is the one responsible for successfully communicating any legitimate insight they have to the mainstream, however difficult that may be. One potential strategy might be to slowly ease your way towards your controversial conclusions, building up your argument carefully along the way, in a way that will make sense to your audience. And yet you still may get downvotes. Such is life. Lastly, it's very valuable to always be open to the idea that you are the one who is actually mistaken in some critical way.

by aviv 8y ago

shawn 8y ago

I read through your comment history to try to find some examples. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16928482 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16928482 There’s a recurring pattern: people ask you to back up what you say, and then you respond with “I won’t do that.”

aviv 8y ago
And my comment there stands. It's gotten worse since then, instead of downvotes I simply get flagged and my content disappears. No point.
- yorwba 8y ago
  There's also no point in posting that you wont post because of getting downvoted and flagged, because that post will also get downvoted and flagged. If you make a controversial claim backed up by sources, you will get negative reactions from people who doubt the validity of those sources. If you make a controversial claim and refuse to provide sources because people would doubt their validity, you'll get negative reactions even from someone who might have agreed with you, because that's just rude.
- dmichulke 8y ago
  Save your important points in a blog post or at least a local text file and c+p them where appropriate. I'd be interested in understanding your point if view but as it stands I have nothing to work with.

dwaltrip 8y ago

The contrarian is the one responsible for successfully communicating any legitimate insight they have to the mainstream, however difficult that may be. One potential strategy might be to slowly ease your way towards your controversial conclusions, building up your argument carefully along the way, in a way that will make sense to your audience. And yet you still may get downvotes. Such is life. Lastly, it's very valuable to always be open to the idea that you are the one who is actually mistaken in some critical way.