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When you have a fixed mindset, have chosen a side in a debate, and actively participate in a story where you have a vested self-interest, you cease to become wh

When you have a fixed mindset, have chosen a side in a debate, and actively participate in a story where you have a vested self-interest, you cease to become what this community loves about you -- the impartial gardener of HN. At this point, you've become a YC defender and have abandoned your post as someone who could serve as a balanced arbiter. Surely, there are other people at YC who could comment on such matters for stories like this. That would be far, far better for you and HN (and probably YC too).

dang 5y ago
I appreciate your comment! but I really don't think that's the right conclusion. I've been doing this for years—people know what to expect from me. I'd rather be up front about the fact that I care about HN and YC, and don't like to let false accusations go unanswered. To some extent it's a temperament thing. Past experiences (long before HN) have conditioned me to be a bit passionate in this department, and with a community like this one, which is extremely sensitive to the truth, I think it would be a bigger mistake to pretend otherwise. Probably a hugely bigger mistake, because what works best for me on HN is relating to people, and I can only do that by being myself. I've never claimed to be impartial and never would (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20unconscious%20bias&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...). What I do claim is that (a) we try hard to be fair and to follow HN's principles, especially the one about intellectual curiosity (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...) ; (b) we always answer questions truthfully, partly because it feels better that way and partly because it would be dumb not to (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=yc%20business%20interests%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so...) ; and (c) we moderate HN less, not more, when YC or a YC startup is involved in a story (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20moderate%20less%20%22not%20more%22%20yc&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...). That, by the way, is the only reason why this imaginary riler-upper spent 11 hours on HN's front page today. We'd never allow that normally—it goes against everything the site is supposed to be for. But I dutifully gritted my teeth and bore it, because that's the principle, and because I'm not about to trade a global optimum for a local one (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20goose%20golden%20egg&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...), even though it sucks to periodically get slimed like this.
- infamia 5y ago
  Thank you for your thoughtful comment and the links. Very helpful! Three thoughts in response: - The appearance of unfairness is arguably at least as important as actual fairness from a community perspective. If you're being fair, but no one thinks believes it, the community suffers as though it were true. During this story, people were openly questioning your motives (even though the original story was apparently not factual) because they perceived unfairness. - Choosing not to engage on certain topics and leaving that to other people in no way prevents you from connecting and engaging with the community naturally. Not engaging throws cold water doubt (unfounded though they may be) before it has an opportunity to smolder. - There are lots of new community members, who could easily get the wrong idea. They don't know you like many (like myself) who have seen how you interact with the community, and in whom you've built up a large reservoir of trust. The role you play in this community is very special and incredibly important to me and many others. Thank you so much!

dang 5y ago

I appreciate your comment! but I really don't think that's the right conclusion. I've been doing this for years—people know what to expect from me. I'd rather be up front about the fact that I care about HN and YC, and don't like to let false accusations go unanswered. To some extent it's a temperament thing. Past experiences (long before HN) have conditioned me to be a bit passionate in this department, and with a community like this one, which is extremely sensitive to the truth, I think it would be a bigger mistake to pretend otherwise. Probably a hugely bigger mistake, because what works best for me on HN is relating to people, and I can only do that by being myself. I've never claimed to be impartial and never would (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20unconscious%20bias&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...). What I do claim is that (a) we try hard to be fair and to follow HN's principles, especially the one about intellectual curiosity (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...) ; (b) we always answer questions truthfully, partly because it feels better that way and partly because it would be dumb not to (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=yc%20business%20interests%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so...) ; and (c) we moderate HN less, not more, when YC or a YC startup is involved in a story (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Adang%20moderate%20less%20%22not%20more%22%20yc&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...). That, by the way, is the only reason why this imaginary riler-upper spent 11 hours on HN's front page today. We'd never allow that normally—it goes against everything the site is supposed to be for. But I dutifully gritted my teeth and bore it, because that's the principle, and because I'm not about to trade a global optimum for a local one (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20goose%20golden%20egg&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...), even though it sucks to periodically get slimed like this.

infamia 5y ago
Thank you for your thoughtful comment and the links. Very helpful! Three thoughts in response: - The appearance of unfairness is arguably at least as important as actual fairness from a community perspective. If you're being fair, but no one thinks believes it, the community suffers as though it were true. During this story, people were openly questioning your motives (even though the original story was apparently not factual) because they perceived unfairness. - Choosing not to engage on certain topics and leaving that to other people in no way prevents you from connecting and engaging with the community naturally. Not engaging throws cold water doubt (unfounded though they may be) before it has an opportunity to smolder. - There are lots of new community members, who could easily get the wrong idea. They don't know you like many (like myself) who have seen how you interact with the community, and in whom you've built up a large reservoir of trust. The role you play in this community is very special and incredibly important to me and many others. Thank you so much!