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> I like HN's approach to moderation. You don't ban the person unless they are really unreasonable. You flag the comment, disappear it from the thread and tell

> I like HN's approach to moderation. You don't ban the person unless they are really unreasonable. You flag the comment, disappear it from the thread and tell them to behave. That does happen, but HN also silently rate-limits and downrates comments for people that have been flagged as troublemakers by the mods. I'm currently rate-limited on HN to no more than five comments in a period of, I think, several hours. Trying to post more often produces a cryptic error message that I honestly thought was a bug. I eventually messaged the mods and was told that I must have done something disruptive (they couldn't tell me what) and they'd restore my privileges if I'd promise to stop doing that (which I can't do in good conscience without knowing what "it" was). I received no warning before this began. They said the obfuscation was necessary because, if I were a troll or a spammer, I'd just create a new account or three if I realized I was being restricted. I don't claim to be a perfect commenter. I know I've let emotion get the better of me on occasion, and it's fair to want to rein that in. But I think it's clear from my history that I'm posting in good faith, at the very least. Treating me like a malicious abuser benefits no one.

cheez 7y ago
Interesting. I guess I haven't yet gone against the opinions of the moderators so I haven't yet faced this problem. I guess gab is the way to go. Block others from your view if you disagree, not from the platform.
teddyh 7y ago
I am, I have come to believe, in the exact same situation as you, except that I have never contacted the moderators. My account is even almost exactly the same age as your account. It’s very disheartening to hear that contacting the moderators, which I have considered doing, will apparently accomplish nothing.
- PhasmaFelis 7y ago
  It's worth a try, anyway. You might get a different mod with a different response, or you might be okay with making a non-specific promise to behave better. (The error I get is "You're posting too fast. Please slow down. Thanks.", if that sounds familiar.)
  - teddyh 7y ago
    Yes, that’s the message I get too.
    - objectivetruth 7y ago
      Me too. My uneducated guess is that dang hit me with that flag after chiding me for talking politics. I don't mind, really. Any topic here even skirting near politics or society brings out a mob of candidates for the "Least Empathetic Human Being" Award, so it's better for me to hit the "too fast" error early on and move on :-)
deleted 7y ago
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cheez 7y ago

Interesting. I guess I haven't yet gone against the opinions of the moderators so I haven't yet faced this problem. I guess gab is the way to go. Block others from your view if you disagree, not from the platform.

teddyh 7y ago

I am, I have come to believe, in the exact same situation as you, except that I have never contacted the moderators. My account is even almost exactly the same age as your account. It’s very disheartening to hear that contacting the moderators, which I have considered doing, will apparently accomplish nothing.

PhasmaFelis 7y ago
It's worth a try, anyway. You might get a different mod with a different response, or you might be okay with making a non-specific promise to behave better. (The error I get is "You're posting too fast. Please slow down. Thanks.", if that sounds familiar.)
- teddyh 7y ago
  Yes, that’s the message I get too.
  - objectivetruth 7y ago
    Me too. My uneducated guess is that dang hit me with that flag after chiding me for talking politics. I don't mind, really. Any topic here even skirting near politics or society brings out a mob of candidates for the "Least Empathetic Human Being" Award, so it's better for me to hit the "too fast" error early on and move on :-)

deleted 7y ago

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