6 ms·

HN has such odd and draconian rules that should really come under scrutiny more often. We're not allowed to think or say certain things? What?

easton 6y ago
It's why the discourse stays on point and doesn't devolve into flame wars, or that's the theory, anyway. Pretty much everything has been designed to make people stay friendly.
- viklove 6y ago
  Very Brave New World-esque. Make rules to keep everyone friendly, but meanwhile what you're actually doing is silencing people and making it impossible to have any real discussion. I better be careful, since I'm only allowed to make 4 comments an hour I have to be very selective of the opinions I share.
jhawk28 6y ago
Asking if the user has read the article is an ad-hominem attack. The guidelines are there to encourage good discussion.
dang 6y ago
I wish they would come under scrutiny more often—it would mean people are reading them! Everything on https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html is derived from (a) HN's core value of intellectual curiosity, which is the sole thing we're optimizing for (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=curiosity%20optimiz%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor...), and (b) well over 10 years of experience operating this place. Not only that, but they're garbage-collected periodically, meaning that if there's any rule there which isn't 'paying' for the space it consumes on that page, we take it out. It's like a codebase that way: complexity is the enemy, less is more, and deleting is at least as important as adding. If anyone has a cogent case for deleting one of the guidelines, that would be most helpful. If anyone can think of one that should be added, and can't be derived from what's already there, that would also be helpful.
- viklove 6y ago
  It's very hard to be intellectually curious when I'm only allowed to post 3-4 comments an hour. What if I'm having a conversation with someone? Why am I not allowed to respond?
  - dang 6y ago
    We rate limit accounts when they post too many low-quality comments too quickly and/or get involved in flamewars. We're happy to take the rate limit off if people give us reason to believe that they understand the site guidelines and sincerely want to use HN in the intended spirit. But it's best to email hn@ycombinator.com and ask us to look into it. I realize it's annoying to be rate limited, but it's one of the few (crude) software tools we have to try to put off the descent of the forum into flamewar, so dropping the mechanism isn't really an option.
    - viklove 6y ago
      Oh ok, so if I'm a good dog you'll take my leash off? Can you please just delete my account like I've asked for multiple times? If not, what does it take to earn a permaban?
      - dang 6y ago
        I can't find any record of you asking us to delete your account. Have you emailed hn@ycombinator.com, as https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html explains?
whimsicalism 6y ago
I don't believe anything was said about what you are allowed to think :)

easton 6y ago

It's why the discourse stays on point and doesn't devolve into flame wars, or that's the theory, anyway. Pretty much everything has been designed to make people stay friendly.

viklove 6y ago
Very Brave New World-esque. Make rules to keep everyone friendly, but meanwhile what you're actually doing is silencing people and making it impossible to have any real discussion. I better be careful, since I'm only allowed to make 4 comments an hour I have to be very selective of the opinions I share.

jhawk28 6y ago

Asking if the user has read the article is an ad-hominem attack. The guidelines are there to encourage good discussion.

dang 6y ago

I wish they would come under scrutiny more often—it would mean people are reading them! Everything on https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html is derived from (a) HN's core value of intellectual curiosity, which is the sole thing we're optimizing for (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=curiosity%20optimiz%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor...), and (b) well over 10 years of experience operating this place. Not only that, but they're garbage-collected periodically, meaning that if there's any rule there which isn't 'paying' for the space it consumes on that page, we take it out. It's like a codebase that way: complexity is the enemy, less is more, and deleting is at least as important as adding. If anyone has a cogent case for deleting one of the guidelines, that would be most helpful. If anyone can think of one that should be added, and can't be derived from what's already there, that would also be helpful.

viklove 6y ago
It's very hard to be intellectually curious when I'm only allowed to post 3-4 comments an hour. What if I'm having a conversation with someone? Why am I not allowed to respond?
- dang 6y ago
  We rate limit accounts when they post too many low-quality comments too quickly and/or get involved in flamewars. We're happy to take the rate limit off if people give us reason to believe that they understand the site guidelines and sincerely want to use HN in the intended spirit. But it's best to email hn@ycombinator.com and ask us to look into it. I realize it's annoying to be rate limited, but it's one of the few (crude) software tools we have to try to put off the descent of the forum into flamewar, so dropping the mechanism isn't really an option.
  - viklove 6y ago
    Oh ok, so if I'm a good dog you'll take my leash off? Can you please just delete my account like I've asked for multiple times? If not, what does it take to earn a permaban?
    - dang 6y ago
      I can't find any record of you asking us to delete your account. Have you emailed hn@ycombinator.com, as https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsfaq.html explains?

whimsicalism 6y ago

I don't believe anything was said about what you are allowed to think :)