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This wasn’t an algorithm error as much as that the author submitted their own stuff multiple times per week for months: https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=a

This wasn’t an algorithm error as much as that the author submitted their own stuff multiple times per week for months: https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=aha.io&next=6435873 https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=aha.io&next=6435873 A human would have also found that obnoxiously self-promotional. dang simply treated the author really nicely.

BowBun 5y ago
Yeah, agreed. They also had no self-awareness to admit partial fault for the ban. They just immediately put the blame on the algo (again, because dang was being so dang nice). Post is also 8 years old so who cares?
- Overtonwindow 5y ago
  I go back and forth on the moderation policies of HN. I think the amount of work is almost certainly overwhelming at times. For the most part, the moderators do a good job of keeping things on course. However, there is still, and likely always will be, a serious ideology, knee-jerk reaction problem from mods personal opinions. It's probable they don't even know they're doing it, but my gut tells me 50% of moderation here is personal. It's using a rubber hammer to hit a nail, and I encourage everyone to look at comments dispassionately. If you'll please excuse me, IMHO, one person deciding that a post is offending, especially on controversial topics, is a problem. I say let the people speak, and then let the votes, and the community, speak for itself.
- coldtea 5y ago
  >They also had no self-awareness to admit partial fault for the ban Well, how about some charity here? They expected profanity, trolling, porn, ads, bad content, etc. to be banned, not their legit submission. "Posting multiple times from the same site" didn't occur to them as an issue, and it makes sense, since they had already done that with no issue before. >Post is also 8 years old so who cares? Why, did anything change to render it obsolete? People don't get banned on HN anymore? The story stopped being amusing?
  - BowBun 5y ago
    I'm talking about after the fact, after they've been told the reason for the ban. In his followup to his ordeal, his only insight at the end is: > So, the lesson is that sometimes when technology fails us and algorithms go wrong, humans can step in and make things right. So sticking to my original point, something more aware would sound like: "Oh, I see how my activity could have been perceived as spam. Luckily humans can step in and help when algos are overly aggressive". The fact that they're so quick to dismiss this issue as purely the technology's fault is what irked me. I think it was fair for them not to know ahead of time.

BowBun 5y ago

Yeah, agreed. They also had no self-awareness to admit partial fault for the ban. They just immediately put the blame on the algo (again, because dang was being so dang nice). Post is also 8 years old so who cares?

Overtonwindow 5y ago
I go back and forth on the moderation policies of HN. I think the amount of work is almost certainly overwhelming at times. For the most part, the moderators do a good job of keeping things on course. However, there is still, and likely always will be, a serious ideology, knee-jerk reaction problem from mods personal opinions. It's probable they don't even know they're doing it, but my gut tells me 50% of moderation here is personal. It's using a rubber hammer to hit a nail, and I encourage everyone to look at comments dispassionately. If you'll please excuse me, IMHO, one person deciding that a post is offending, especially on controversial topics, is a problem. I say let the people speak, and then let the votes, and the community, speak for itself.
coldtea 5y ago
>They also had no self-awareness to admit partial fault for the ban Well, how about some charity here? They expected profanity, trolling, porn, ads, bad content, etc. to be banned, not their legit submission. "Posting multiple times from the same site" didn't occur to them as an issue, and it makes sense, since they had already done that with no issue before. >Post is also 8 years old so who cares? Why, did anything change to render it obsolete? People don't get banned on HN anymore? The story stopped being amusing?
- BowBun 5y ago
  I'm talking about after the fact, after they've been told the reason for the ban. In his followup to his ordeal, his only insight at the end is: > So, the lesson is that sometimes when technology fails us and algorithms go wrong, humans can step in and make things right. So sticking to my original point, something more aware would sound like: "Oh, I see how my activity could have been perceived as spam. Luckily humans can step in and help when algos are overly aggressive". The fact that they're so quick to dismiss this issue as purely the technology's fault is what irked me. I think it was fair for them not to know ahead of time.