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This thread is fascinating. Same type of troll/sarcasm/meme comments (e.g. "orange man bad") as you find on Reddit, which are normally absent from HN. This topi

This thread is fascinating. Same type of troll/sarcasm/meme comments (e.g. "orange man bad") as you find on Reddit, which are normally absent from HN. This topic clearly brings out the worst no matter where it's discussed.

txmachinery 6y ago
Or the commentary is largely coming from those normally absent from HN.
- balozi 6y ago
  It must be the outside agitators?
- skinkestek 6y ago
  Many of the comments on both sides - although hopefully not most of the worst ones - are from long term contributors. Many of us try to be reasonable even when we go against the grain here: Personally I never liked or voted Trump and I trust the American public and American judges more than HN or YouTube. As an outside observer with contacts on both sides I can see how maddening this must be, so here I am on HN, trying to explain how this feels like for Trump supporters. Meanwhile I see messages waiting for me on Telegram and I think Instagram from some of those people and I will again tryvto explain them that even if they haven't seen a single Biden supporter for miles it just means they haven't looked in the right places. But, historically I think being a reasonable person when American elections are discussed on HN is a losing proposition :-)
sergiomattei 6y ago
I’ve never seen such a cesspool in HN. This (low) level of debate here is novel.
blisterpeanuts 6y ago
Any political topic on Hacker News tends to bring out emotionally charged commentary. Anyone going against the prevailing ideology gets voted down into a light gray shade that is almost impossible to read. I love the technology discussions here, but when it comes to sociology and politics and topics like Big Tech censorship, it's tediously one sided.
davesque 6y ago
This is the only comment I feel like I can meaningfully respond to (and agree with). Much of the rest of the opinions expressed (especially in the most upvoted comments) are done so in such a way that makes it seems as though there's no debate to be had. You're either for or against free speech. No in between. Of course, counterexamples abound but it doesn't matter in this discussion. Truly a sad thing to witness. As the Chinese proverb goes, we certainly do live in interesting times.

txmachinery 6y ago

Or the commentary is largely coming from those normally absent from HN.

balozi 6y ago
It must be the outside agitators?
skinkestek 6y ago
Many of the comments on both sides - although hopefully not most of the worst ones - are from long term contributors. Many of us try to be reasonable even when we go against the grain here: Personally I never liked or voted Trump and I trust the American public and American judges more than HN or YouTube. As an outside observer with contacts on both sides I can see how maddening this must be, so here I am on HN, trying to explain how this feels like for Trump supporters. Meanwhile I see messages waiting for me on Telegram and I think Instagram from some of those people and I will again tryvto explain them that even if they haven't seen a single Biden supporter for miles it just means they haven't looked in the right places. But, historically I think being a reasonable person when American elections are discussed on HN is a losing proposition :-)

sergiomattei 6y ago

I’ve never seen such a cesspool in HN. This (low) level of debate here is novel.

blisterpeanuts 6y ago

Any political topic on Hacker News tends to bring out emotionally charged commentary. Anyone going against the prevailing ideology gets voted down into a light gray shade that is almost impossible to read. I love the technology discussions here, but when it comes to sociology and politics and topics like Big Tech censorship, it's tediously one sided.

davesque 6y ago

This is the only comment I feel like I can meaningfully respond to (and agree with). Much of the rest of the opinions expressed (especially in the most upvoted comments) are done so in such a way that makes it seems as though there's no debate to be had. You're either for or against free speech. No in between. Of course, counterexamples abound but it doesn't matter in this discussion. Truly a sad thing to witness. As the Chinese proverb goes, we certainly do live in interesting times.