2 ms·

I think a lot of people have been using HN for political battle since January 6th, but I stand by my comment history, and I think that I more than earn an ongoi

by zaroth 6y ago

I think a lot of people have been using HN for political battle since January 6th, but I stand by my comment history, and I think that I more than earn an ongoing voice in the HN community with my contributions each week. I don't think it's fair to say I have been using "HN primarily for political battle". When I do post on political threads, I try to do so with reasonable counter-points, logical debate, and appeal to avoid hyperbole and flame wars. I am certainly not perfect, but that is my aim. I'll try to do better. Over the last 2 weeks I've posted 48 threads, 30 of which were non-political. Some of the highlights; https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25684154 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25684154 (+128) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25585764 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25585764 (+31) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25697136 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25697136 (+30) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25589742 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25589742 (+6 posted late, underrated) Of my rare political post, which of course have been +3 sigma more frequent since the 6th, here are some that I fully stand behind; https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25695844 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25695844 (+21) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25688330 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25688330 (+10) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25691821 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25691821 (+9) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25711604 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25711604 (+4) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25711572 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25711572 (+1, was in fact disinformation) And in full disclosure, some that were less substantive; https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25677651 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25677651 (+3) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25680846 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25680846 (+1) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25710688 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25710688 (-2) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25693504 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25693504 (-4) I'm not sure if you took issue with this particular post, which is currently (+12) and a totally fair point to question an incorrect factual claim by throw_m239339, who by the way I usually agree with. EDIT: I see that you posted a ton of these warnings throughout the site on many profiles, which helps me feel less singled out. Again, I'll try to do better. You have an impossible task the last 6 days.

dang 6y ago
It's certainly true that a lot of people have been doing that. That will probably settle down somewhat, but I think we need to raise the bar for what counts as acceptable on HN. That's why I've been posting a ton more warnings, and I'm glad that you noticed that I wasn't singling you out! I take your point that you've been participating in other sorts of discussion too. I look through account histories fairly quickly—that's all there's time for. It's a pattern matching game. If I matched you to the wrong pattern, I'm sorry, but if you'd please err on the side of avoiding political battle and sticking to intellectual curiosity, we'd appreciate it.

by zaroth 6y ago

dang 6y ago

It's certainly true that a lot of people have been doing that. That will probably settle down somewhat, but I think we need to raise the bar for what counts as acceptable on HN. That's why I've been posting a ton more warnings, and I'm glad that you noticed that I wasn't singling you out! I take your point that you've been participating in other sorts of discussion too. I look through account histories fairly quickly—that's all there's time for. It's a pattern matching game. If I matched you to the wrong pattern, I'm sorry, but if you'd please err on the side of avoiding political battle and sticking to intellectual curiosity, we'd appreciate it.