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I understand your mod decision. I would also recommend looking into the OP's claim. I have to agree, the downvoting on this topic is much more than I am used

by yters 7y ago

I understand your mod decision. I would also recommend looking into the OP's claim. I have to agree, the downvoting on this topic is much more than I am used to, and I get downvoted often! So, it appears there is more than the normal HN audience at work here.

dang 7y ago
I'd be happy to look at specific links that anyone is worried about. That's part of the contract we have with users: the guidelines ask people not to post insinuations about astroturfing but they also ask people to send the concerns they do have to hn@ycombinator.com. Based on everything I've seen, though, the null hypothesis is that what you're describing is explained not by a difference in the audience, but by the topic. China was already probably the single most divisive topic on HN in the last year. Obviously the covid crisis has accentuated that. This isn't an HN thing—it's all through Western media and no doubt a symmetrical version is running through Chinese media as well. HN can't possibly be immune from macro social trends ( https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20immune%20trend&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... ). You can see that I've been making this point, including about China, for a long time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19219091 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19219091 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18758864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18758864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18227719 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18227719 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18413084 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18413084 Also, note how those commenters have the perception of exactly the opposite bias on HN? That's how this goes. This has been happening for a long time, and when we moderate both sides, each side takes it as proof that we're biased against them. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18214378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18214378
- yters 7y ago
  That is a good point. The uptick in downvotes I see could maybe explained by the topic's high profile and divisiveness, instead of astroturf. But, that still leaves the question as to who is in favor of the CCP? Or is it just a reaction to short, dismissive posts on the topic? Must be interesting as a mod to get to quantitatively analyze these questions!

by yters 7y ago

dang 7y ago

I'd be happy to look at specific links that anyone is worried about. That's part of the contract we have with users: the guidelines ask people not to post insinuations about astroturfing but they also ask people to send the concerns they do have to hn@ycombinator.com. Based on everything I've seen, though, the null hypothesis is that what you're describing is explained not by a difference in the audience, but by the topic. China was already probably the single most divisive topic on HN in the last year. Obviously the covid crisis has accentuated that. This isn't an HN thing—it's all through Western media and no doubt a symmetrical version is running through Chinese media as well. HN can't possibly be immune from macro social trends ( https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20immune%20trend&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... ). You can see that I've been making this point, including about China, for a long time: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19219091 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19219091 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18758864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18758864 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18227719 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18227719 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18413084 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18413084 Also, note how those commenters have the perception of exactly the opposite bias on HN? That's how this goes. This has been happening for a long time, and when we moderate both sides, each side takes it as proof that we're biased against them. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18214378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18214378

yters 7y ago
That is a good point. The uptick in downvotes I see could maybe explained by the topic's high profile and divisiveness, instead of astroturf. But, that still leaves the question as to who is in favor of the CCP? Or is it just a reaction to short, dismissive posts on the topic? Must be interesting as a mod to get to quantitatively analyze these questions!