5 ms·

Is this post appropriate for HN?

by suyash 16y ago

cosmok 16y ago
Not according to the guidelines: "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic." But, I don't mind it all as I get to read views and firsthand accounts from fellow hackers that is much different from what I see on TV.
- rdl 16y ago
  I was particularly interested in "is patio11 ok?" (and, are there any transpac fiber cuts?) I think it's fair to post stories which are headlines in ~all news simultaneously, even if not "hacker news" -- nuclear explosions, assassinations of G7 leaders, major wars, etc.
  - patio11 16y ago
    I'm touched, but there are several dozen HNers in Japan who I've met personally (just an FYI) most were closer to it than I was.
Sandman 16y ago
No, it is not. From the HN guidelines: Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic. And unlike cosmok, I do mind it, because this type of news is slowly turning HN into something it shouldn't be. There's a reason for this particular guideline, and I think we should honor that. EDIT: I don't mind the downvoting, but please, if you do that, at least post a comment on why you think my comment deserved to be downvoted.
- younata 16y ago
  it shouldn't be downvoted anymore than cosmok's (which as of now, is sitting at karma 0). I upvoted you to keep you closer to cosmok's comment.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- htp 16y ago
  I didn't down- or up-vote you, but my immediate response to your comment was: "is this really the time to worry about what HN is or isn't turning into?" If your downvoters think the same way I do, they're downvoting because they don't think right now is a good time to worry about the future of HN, no matter what the guidelines say. This isn't to say your opinion is invalid (it's a perfectly legitimate thing to worry about); it just seems ill-timed in the face of potentially catastrophic disaster, and downvoting is an easy way to express disapproval.
- erikpukinskis 16y ago
  I agree it's important that we maintain a culture of curation here, but some events are big enough that they eclipse cultural mores. With respect to the kind of exceptions we make every day, I agree with you. But once or twice a year, a lot of people die, and everyone kind of stops what they're doing and pays their respects, wherever they happen to be, whether you're in line at the bank, or on the floor of the senate. We all happen to be on HN 24 hours a day, so this is where we all stop and take notice.
- mechanical_fish 16y ago
  They may be downvoting you because they are emotional. Or they may be downvoting because you are wrong. ;) This story violates neither the letter nor the spirit of the rule against "video" of a disaster; aka cheap sensationalism. Rather, much of the thread is the opposite of sensationalism: e.g. patio11 on the average state of Japanese disaster preparedness. This story has all sorts of HN community relevance, ranging from how are community members experiencing this on the ground to how do otherwise abstract geology papers manifest in real life to hey, wait, my startup is sitting in a prime earthquake zone; how should we prepare? And, you know, this is a magnitude 8.9 earthquake. They don't happen every year. We can afford a handful of threads on each one. It's nice to try to have an interesting news site, but if this isn't news one has to question the entire concept of news. Which is fair: News is not for everyone, and perhaps news is not for you. It's just not to your taste. Have you tried an exclusive diet of decade-old paper books?
vijaydev 16y ago
May be, may not be. But I'm sure there are people out there who got some updates from this post. For them, yes it is.
flyt 16y ago
probably not. oh well.
oldstrangers 16y ago
I wish I had enough karma to downvote you.
- ramchip 16y ago
  Why would his post deserve being downvoted to hell without so much as a discussion? You and I may disagree with him, but he has a valid point and doesn't appear to be trolling.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - oldstrangers 16y ago
    I would like to think that HN had some compassion for their fellow users (HN has a lot of Tokyo based startups/hackers), not to mention humans in general. In a scenario like this, who gives a fuck if it's off topic? And for the record, I saw the story here first, so I am thankful for that.
    - Sandman 16y ago
      There are plenty of sites for general news. HN is not one of them. The reason you saw it here first is because somebody posted it here despite what the guidelines say, and you happened to come at the right moment, before you checked other news sites you usually do. The fact that you saw it here first does not change the fact that the article is, according to guidelines, off-topic. Oh, and FYI, not posting this article on HN != not having compassion for fellow hackers.
      - sw007 16y ago
        I find it strange that you and others question whether this article should be on HN - the fact you and others are commenting must mean that the topic grabbed you enough for you to want to read and comment on what people are saying on the subject. Also the fact that the post has over 300 points and is comfortably the most talked about thing within the community is proof enough that topics like this should be allowed to remain within HN
coderdude 16y ago
50 crap articles get front-paged every single day and you choose the one about breaking news from a national disaster to start whining about what's right and wrong for HN? Sheesh.
intended 16y ago
Fair enough. Maybe there is something people can come up with here which will help/inform people? Edit: I mean this in earnest, we can and should help.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

Is this post appropriate for HN?

by suyash 16y ago

Is this post appropriate for HN?

Not according to the guidelines: "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic." But, I don't mind it all as I get to read views and firsthand accounts from fellow hackers that is much different from what I see on TV.

rdl 16y ago
I was particularly interested in "is patio11 ok?" (and, are there any transpac fiber cuts?) I think it's fair to post stories which are headlines in ~all news simultaneously, even if not "hacker news" -- nuclear explosions, assassinations of G7 leaders, major wars, etc.
- patio11 16y ago
  I'm touched, but there are several dozen HNers in Japan who I've met personally (just an FYI) most were closer to it than I was.

Sandman 16y ago

No, it is not. From the HN guidelines: Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic. And unlike cosmok, I do mind it, because this type of news is slowly turning HN into something it shouldn't be. There's a reason for this particular guideline, and I think we should honor that. EDIT: I don't mind the downvoting, but please, if you do that, at least post a comment on why you think my comment deserved to be downvoted.

younata 16y ago
it shouldn't be downvoted anymore than cosmok's (which as of now, is sitting at karma 0). I upvoted you to keep you closer to cosmok's comment.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
htp 16y ago
I didn't down- or up-vote you, but my immediate response to your comment was: "is this really the time to worry about what HN is or isn't turning into?" If your downvoters think the same way I do, they're downvoting because they don't think right now is a good time to worry about the future of HN, no matter what the guidelines say. This isn't to say your opinion is invalid (it's a perfectly legitimate thing to worry about); it just seems ill-timed in the face of potentially catastrophic disaster, and downvoting is an easy way to express disapproval.
erikpukinskis 16y ago
I agree it's important that we maintain a culture of curation here, but some events are big enough that they eclipse cultural mores. With respect to the kind of exceptions we make every day, I agree with you. But once or twice a year, a lot of people die, and everyone kind of stops what they're doing and pays their respects, wherever they happen to be, whether you're in line at the bank, or on the floor of the senate. We all happen to be on HN 24 hours a day, so this is where we all stop and take notice.
mechanical_fish 16y ago
They may be downvoting you because they are emotional. Or they may be downvoting because you are wrong. ;) This story violates neither the letter nor the spirit of the rule against "video" of a disaster; aka cheap sensationalism. Rather, much of the thread is the opposite of sensationalism: e.g. patio11 on the average state of Japanese disaster preparedness. This story has all sorts of HN community relevance, ranging from how are community members experiencing this on the ground to how do otherwise abstract geology papers manifest in real life to hey, wait, my startup is sitting in a prime earthquake zone; how should we prepare? And, you know, this is a magnitude 8.9 earthquake. They don't happen every year. We can afford a handful of threads on each one. It's nice to try to have an interesting news site, but if this isn't news one has to question the entire concept of news. Which is fair: News is not for everyone, and perhaps news is not for you. It's just not to your taste. Have you tried an exclusive diet of decade-old paper books?

vijaydev 16y ago

May be, may not be. But I'm sure there are people out there who got some updates from this post. For them, yes it is.

flyt 16y ago

probably not. oh well.

oldstrangers 16y ago

I wish I had enough karma to downvote you.

ramchip 16y ago
Why would his post deserve being downvoted to hell without so much as a discussion? You and I may disagree with him, but he has a valid point and doesn't appear to be trolling.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- oldstrangers 16y ago
  I would like to think that HN had some compassion for their fellow users (HN has a lot of Tokyo based startups/hackers), not to mention humans in general. In a scenario like this, who gives a fuck if it's off topic? And for the record, I saw the story here first, so I am thankful for that.
  - Sandman 16y ago
    There are plenty of sites for general news. HN is not one of them. The reason you saw it here first is because somebody posted it here despite what the guidelines say, and you happened to come at the right moment, before you checked other news sites you usually do. The fact that you saw it here first does not change the fact that the article is, according to guidelines, off-topic. Oh, and FYI, not posting this article on HN != not having compassion for fellow hackers.
    - sw007 16y ago
      I find it strange that you and others question whether this article should be on HN - the fact you and others are commenting must mean that the topic grabbed you enough for you to want to read and comment on what people are saying on the subject. Also the fact that the post has over 300 points and is comfortably the most talked about thing within the community is proof enough that topics like this should be allowed to remain within HN

coderdude 16y ago

50 crap articles get front-paged every single day and you choose the one about breaking news from a national disaster to start whining about what's right and wrong for HN? Sheesh.

intended 16y ago

Fair enough. Maybe there is something people can come up with here which will help/inform people? Edit: I mean this in earnest, we can and should help.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]