I was speaking more broadly regarding anonymity. > Yes, of course there are many people who are aggressive about their views and basically intolerant, but if s

I was speaking more broadly regarding anonymity. > Yes, of course there are many people who are aggressive about their views and basically intolerant, but if someone crosses the line they'll be downvoted here too, even if they have leftish/progressive views. The gamification of social interaction creates the intolerant views and all the negative incentives around it. Downvoting / Upvoting is part of that. It is literally the mob deciding whether you have a right to be heard. I rather there were the rules and nothing else. > Frankly, of many places on today's Internet, HN is one of the nicest to be. Which is another reason why dissenting opinion is quashed because people self-censor. Sometimes some things have to be said and they have to be said in an unpleasant manner. It is pretty clear at this point we are just talking past one another though.