4 ms·
I think it's fair to say HN policies around naming and shaming are pretty cut-and-dry in the comment section: that is, unless it's the subject of the article or
by Mandatum 6y ago
I think it's fair to say HN policies around naming and shaming are pretty cut-and-dry in the comment section: that is, unless it's the subject of the article or link by the OP, it's not okay.
So from what I can tell, if someone writes an article about an employee of a company, people can say whatever they like in the comment section - anecdotes as colleagues, stories of similar environments, a mix of facts and claims. The article in question may be mostly heresy, and we've seen in the past this happen with the likes of Bezos, or very public people within our field like Stallman, or founders with questionable morals (see the latest AI controversies, or ads, or hacking, or regulations)..
But as soon as we specifically name someone in the comments, it's considered a witch-hunt. I think this is only true the first time it happens, or prior to them being targeted outside of this community.
Once someone writes a blog post with at least some facts on the subject, or the mainstream media writes about them - suddenly they're fair-game.
dang, we know this isn't going to get any easier to moderate. And I think writing broad, sweeping rules around this won't work. However, could you possibly write a post about it? You've expanded in the comments section in response to my own failure to live up to these standards (sorry again!), which I think was a good amount of information.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23306743 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23306743
I think it could be good for some community self-reflection, and to see where the line of discourse vs gossip sits today.
- dang 6y agoIt's my intention to collect the moderation comments on various of these perennial topics, cherry-pick the best bits, and turn them into either some essays or perhaps a kind of super-FAQ. That's why I link to old moderation comments using hn.algolia.com; the answers have started to converge in the last few years, and maybe there's a blissful future in which we can simply link to official explanations rather than endlessly reworking them. So yes in principle, though when there will be time for it is another question.