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Im able to post but it doesnt appear for other users. the link appears on my profile when Im signed in but others cant see it. the posts dont have a "discuss" b

Im able to post but it doesnt appear for other users. the link appears on my profile when Im signed in but others cant see it. the posts dont have a "discuss" button or unique url at all. I havent asked yet, but the timing does seem awful fishy, immediately after posting a popular controversial submission.

behnamoh 4y ago
That's exactly my point in this thread. This shadowbanning needs to stop.
- unknownaccount 4y ago
  - dang 4y ago
    No government operatives have permissions of any kind on HN. We don't know any government operatives nor have we ever heard from any*. I assume HN is much too small a fish for them to fry. You're overestimating HN's real-world impact by a long shot (but underestimating page views btw! it's more like 8M hits a day - maybe 10M if you include the API). Plenty of posts on HN are critical of megacorps, government, status quos, and/or media narratives. You might be closer to the mark with your phrase "sowing resentment", though—that sounds like ideological battle, flamewar, and other low-quality internet noise, and those are indeed things we don't want here. Not because we're trying to preserve status quos—we aren't—but because we're trying to run a forum for curious conversation, and resentful rallying poisons that utterly. * other than from law enforcement on rare occasions - maybe once every 2-3 years, if that - in connection with some investigation or other. Never anything political or ideological though.
    - unknownaccount 4y ago
      Of course, why would government operatives need a backdoor or even bother sending you secret takedown requests when the process to silence any user is way easier than anyone had imagined? just proxy up a few fake accounts on residential IPs to flag the post and then complain to you a few times!
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
  - bheadmaster 4y ago
    As someone who really understands the feeling of frustration caused by unfair censorship - I'd like to point out that Daniel, the HN admin, is a very chill and understanding dude. I'm sure if you contact him at hn@ycombinator.com and ask politely, you'll either get un-shadowbanned or a very good explanation of why not. He's a person, like you or me, not a personification of megacorps. --- Alternatively, you can keep doing nothing but commenting about how oppressed you are. That's also an option. It won't accomplish anything, but it would feel very pleasant for someone with persecution fantasies.
    - unknownaccount 4y ago
      Thanks for your suggestion. The reason why Ive commented about it isnt because I have a persecution fantasy, but because the community deserves to know this is going on and if anyones similarly been affected that they arent alone.
      - dang 4y ago
        Much of the community does know. None of these practices are secret - we're always happy to answer questions about them and have been doing so for years.
        unknownaccount 4y ago
        Does the community really know that all it takes to take away another user's posting privileges is to flag their posts and complain to you a few times from fake accounts? I doubt it, but thanks for confirming that's how the process works.

behnamoh 4y ago

That's exactly my point in this thread. This shadowbanning needs to stop.

unknownaccount 4y ago
- dang 4y ago
  No government operatives have permissions of any kind on HN. We don't know any government operatives nor have we ever heard from any*. I assume HN is much too small a fish for them to fry. You're overestimating HN's real-world impact by a long shot (but underestimating page views btw! it's more like 8M hits a day - maybe 10M if you include the API). Plenty of posts on HN are critical of megacorps, government, status quos, and/or media narratives. You might be closer to the mark with your phrase "sowing resentment", though—that sounds like ideological battle, flamewar, and other low-quality internet noise, and those are indeed things we don't want here. Not because we're trying to preserve status quos—we aren't—but because we're trying to run a forum for curious conversation, and resentful rallying poisons that utterly. * other than from law enforcement on rare occasions - maybe once every 2-3 years, if that - in connection with some investigation or other. Never anything political or ideological though.
  - unknownaccount 4y ago
    Of course, why would government operatives need a backdoor or even bother sending you secret takedown requests when the process to silence any user is way easier than anyone had imagined? just proxy up a few fake accounts on residential IPs to flag the post and then complain to you a few times!
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
- bheadmaster 4y ago
  As someone who really understands the feeling of frustration caused by unfair censorship - I'd like to point out that Daniel, the HN admin, is a very chill and understanding dude. I'm sure if you contact him at hn@ycombinator.com and ask politely, you'll either get un-shadowbanned or a very good explanation of why not. He's a person, like you or me, not a personification of megacorps. --- Alternatively, you can keep doing nothing but commenting about how oppressed you are. That's also an option. It won't accomplish anything, but it would feel very pleasant for someone with persecution fantasies.
  - unknownaccount 4y ago
    Thanks for your suggestion. The reason why Ive commented about it isnt because I have a persecution fantasy, but because the community deserves to know this is going on and if anyones similarly been affected that they arent alone.
    - dang 4y ago
      Much of the community does know. None of these practices are secret - we're always happy to answer questions about them and have been doing so for years.
      - unknownaccount 4y ago
        Does the community really know that all it takes to take away another user's posting privileges is to flag their posts and complain to you a few times from fake accounts? I doubt it, but thanks for confirming that's how the process works.