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Thanks Dang, Happy Holidays
- theCrowing 4y agoI hope everything levels out next year and we are not all in a constant state of infighting and can start to work on something better than the tyranny of "Breaking News". thx dang for keeping it civil in the last years.
- Gigachad 4y agoMerry Christmas
- O__________O 4y agoDang, thank you for everything you do - Happy Holidays!! For the unfamiliar, here’s more information on Dang: https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/the-lonely-work-of-moderating-hacker-news https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/th...
- ignoramous 4y agoSome more Daniel Gackle appreciation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25225775 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25225775
- fragmede 4y agoAnd the related discussion of said link: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30374040 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30374040 There's a real wealth of thoughts from dang about this site buried in there! Also definitions for MOT (Major Ongoing Topic) and SNI (Specific New Information) which I'd not seen before.
- O__________O 4y agoDirect link to Dang’s comment covering topics of “Major Ongoing Topic” and “Specific New Information” mentioned above: - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22902490 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22902490
- agolio 4y ago> In an Emacs file, Gackle collects ... I would love to see this "Emacs file" :D Jokes aside, a nice article
- defrost 4y agoand an obligatory NewYorker alt link: https://archive.ph/DfXFL https://archive.ph/DfXFL Best wishes to all.
- olivermuty 4y agoUp until this moment I assumed Dang was a last name and visualized an asian person whenever the name popped up. Cool article :)
- memling 4y agoI had always thought it was just what he said every single time he had to moderate.
- j1elo 4y agoThanks to this comment, I found out about the twitter account @shit_hn_says, and what a finding.
- Tepix 4y agoHappy Holidays! What is Bell's username?
- O__________O 4y agoHere’s Scott’s HN username: - https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sctb https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=sctb Though per Dang, since sometime in late 2019, he’s no longer a HN mod: - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25055115 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25055115 * Might be wrong, but my understanding is that Dang is now the only official moderator, but others do help out unofficially.
- ariarad0089 4y agoDang, I believe, and again this is my belief alone, is like moderators of other social media, an FBI (or US Nation security state) insider. He has shown ruthlessness anytime someone criticized FBI in this site. Given the recent development, how much power FBI has on content moderation in ALL social media and how they go out of their way to PAY moderators, this is hardly surprising. And in fact, in a dystopian universe, dang would probably have to resign as a moderator and bow to FBI claims if he did not do what he frequently does. So no I don't thank dang but I am grateful for this site to exist.
- dang 4y agoI realize that replies like this don't necessarily help, but I'll try. We're not in contact, let alone cahoots, with FBI or any other government agencies, or any other organization for that matter. I think there have been a handful of subpoeanas (maybe 3 or 4) over the years, related to ongoing investigations, but nothing memorable. We don't have any problem with people criticizing the FBI or anyone else, as long as the comments stay within the realm of thoughtful conversation and don't cross into flamewar or fulmination (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html). That's not to protect the FBI or anyone else—it's just trying to prevent HN from deteriorating (too quickly).
- mherrmann 4y agoYour work really positively impacts this community. Thank you, dang.
- agolio 4y agoThank you dang! I often see your comments while browsing and always find them informative and reasonable. Good quality moderation.
- thomassmith65 4y agoOccasionally I peruse dang's comments just for fun: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=dang https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=dang
- fragmede 4y agoJeeze what care he shows by patiently asking trolls not to post flamebait.
- willcipriano 4y agoThanks and uh, sorry for any headaches, I know I'm a unconventional guy with some ideas that particularly recently aren't the easiest to defend. I never intend to create a moderation burden but I fear it may have happened on some occasions this year. Also I believe that it may be more than Dang behind the scenes so thanks to the rest of the team as well.
- bachmeier 4y agoIt's gonna be a big loss for HN when Elon Musk signs him to moderate Twitter.
- sph 4y agoNot before Musk builds CloneX to make a couple dang clones to manage the whole of Twitter. But I reckon he'd want to rewrite the whole thing in Arc :)
- paul7986 4y agoHe'd have to moderate Trump oops I mean Musk and Musk isn't one to be moderated.
- raverbashing 4y agoJust train ChatGPT on his mod history and off you go ;)
- unsupp0rted 4y agoI suspect that HN users are uniquely moderateable in a way the general public isn’t. I’d be very curious if Dang would agree that we’re more rational and more prone to accept course correction than normies, or conversely that we think we’re so smart that we’re harder to moderate than anybody else.
- xoa 4y agoMany a long time forum has come and gone, degraded in culture, succumbed to featuritis or any of the many possible ends such gatherings online can face as the years slip by. It really is special how HN has stayed on balance a place one can discover fascinating new things and people who stimulate the mind. Moderation plays a huge role in tending that spirit, and I too am truly grateful for the work you do here. Happy holidays to the whole of HN as well. Moderation tends things, but the great people far more knowledgeable and from far different backgrounds from me who submit and discuss are the meat on the bones! Thanks to all of you, you've helped me through quite a few challenges!
- eastbound 4y agoThank you @pg and @dang for maintaining this forum, because you’ve been my MBA. See, I’m an engineer, a moderately good one, passionate with business but unable to get the connections to start one, let alone know how to start one. Thanks to countless essays, from Paul Graham’s to Kalzumeus or Joel on Software, and countless comments, bouncing ideas, and books (Founders at Work), etc., when I started my company, I knew exactly what to do, how to react to catastrophic events, how to notice a pivot, etc. It led me to hiring 3 employees and having the money to hire 5-10 more, bootstrapped and always spending wisely. Thank you HN. I wonder whether there’s now a place to learn how to go from 3 employees to 30. We hear very few stories of managers on HN, as opposed to stories of founders. Lots of my friends call me talented, and treat my 10-year business with respect. Well, I have a little secret. It’s always been you, HN. PS: Maybe I should apply to YCombinator in the end, to give you the 7% of my business I owe you ;)
- M5x7wI3CmbEem10 4y agothis is a great list of resources. any other blogs or books you recommend? would love to start a company eventually.
- marktani 4y agobest moderator, thanks dang!!
- yrgulation 4y agoThanks for putting up for those of us whom are too rebellious! Promise changes in the coming year. Happy holidays!!
- Waterluvian 4y agoAre there other moderators? I only know of Dang, who does great work, but don’t want to omit anyone else.
- O__________O 4y agoMight be wrong, but my understanding is that Dang is now the only official moderator, but others do help out unofficially.
- dang 4y agoThere are, but I'm the only public one.
- bamboozled 4y agoYou da man Dang, thanks !!
- revskill 4y agoHow about integrate AI to automate comment moderation ? So you can retire now ?
- loloquwowndueo 4y agoNice to see some humor thrown around in this thread :)
- endymi0n 4y agoGetting one of my comments banned by dang in his calm and substantiated manner was a wakeup moment for me. I like my discussions hot, but this was the time where I realized that keeping a discussion valuable and on point is probably more important than winning it in the grand scheme of things. Incidentally, it also gradually managed to cure me from free-speech absolutism. (By now, I think almost all Xisms and extremes are nonsense, but that‘s a different hot discussion to be had). This forum wouldn‘t be the same without him. Thanks dang.
- fennecfoxy 4y agoHe he, yeah I've been told off a few times too. Quite militant with the things I care about but sometimes that needs to be tempered and he really does make HN a better place.
- eru 4y agoI also had pleasant interactions with dang. Thanks! > Incidentally, it also gradually managed to cure me from free-speech absolutism. (By now, I think almost all Xisms and extremes are nonsense, but that‘s a different hot discussion to be had). Just out of curiosity, were you in favour of absolute free-speech on a private forum like HN, or that there shouldn't be laws banning specific speech acts?
- endymi0n 4y agoIt was more of a philosophical than a political support of free speech, minted by the same forces of the early internet (in a time of true single-channel mainstream media) that a lot of us older hackers experienced. It‘s just that over time I realized that in such a situation not the most accurate and consistent voice would win, just the most obnoxious, manipulating and brazenly lying. There seems to be a tipping point lurking behind „pretty free speech“. Counter-intuitively, I‘ve seen deeper, way more meaningful, effective and vulnerable conversation happening in places with very high amounts of moderation (EO Gestalt language protocol, Chatham House rules). Count me in as a fan of well done moderation these days.
- 4y ago
- yvsong 4y agoDang! Another year flied away.
- user3939382 4y agoPolitical activist moderators ftw
- tmountain 4y agoDang, thanks for helping make my most oft visited website stay true to its values. I really appreciate the work you do.
- champagnepapi 4y agoAgreed. Thanks a lot Dang!
- nathell 4y agoThank you to everyone participating in HN. pg, dang, but also everyone posting and commenting: you're the part of what makes it a unique place. I've learned a lot from HN. It's been a source of distraction feeding my ADHD, but it's also made my knowledge a lot more vast and thorough and my thinking sharper. I'm grateful, and I'm sure I'll continue revisiting it almost every day. May everyone's holiday bring you all that you cherish in this period.
- wutheringh 4y agoI troll this site so much and he warns and bans me on all my accounts but I still appreciate his attitude, there’s no inconsistency to it and all his arguments for why he enforces rules are always well-reasoned.
- soVeryTired 4y agoWhy though? You're just making his job harder and the forum a worse place.
- wutheringh 4y agoI get bored and lonely sometimes and I don’t always have the energy for intelligent discussion, I usually save that for work. Tbh I probably suffer from ASPD.
- striking 4y agoInstead of making dang's life harder and making HN a worse place, have you tried therapy? It might cost money, but it at least has a chance at treating the underlying cause or of teaching you better coping mechanisms.
- wutheringh 4y agoThe scientific consensus is that therapy doesn’t really help much for sufferers of ASPD and resources are better diverted toward the people they hurt. I donate to a homeless shelter in my area and give money to homeless people to make up for the havoc I wreak here.
- h2odragon 4y agoChaos can cause happy accidents, as well as unhappy ones. I sometimes throw out comments i know will catch flamewars, because (a) I think i can say something funny, at the least, and (b) if I catch a flamewar, then the rest of the thread will hopefully be less polluted with char, smut and smoke.
- deleted 4y ago
- tomcam 4y agoDude is a beast. Very grateful for this site.
- asim 4y agoThank you Dan, for your efforts but also for the time and help you have given me.
- soVeryTired 4y agoThe CmdrTaco of the modern age. Thanks for your hard work.
- h2odragon 4y agoOOff i dunno if that's the compliment you meant it to be :) Gene Spafford, maybe?
- ArtWomb 4y agoBrings back memories ;) https://spaf.cerias.purdue.edu/ https://spaf.cerias.purdue.edu/ Thanks, dang! Closest analogy is probably The Wells' Tom Mandel: What Tom Mandel knew, and what many companies and individuals still refuse to learn, is that on- line is not about selling something to someone or bringing information to the starving masses. What it is about is people wanting to connect, in a real and genuine way, to other people free of the filters of older media; to establish, no matter how ephemerally, communities of like minded souls who are not separated by the facts of geography; to create a place where it really is the content of one's character that is the first and foremost thing people see https://americandigest.org/mt-archives/005663.php https://americandigest.org/mt-archives/005663.php Also, Tom Mandel was the first man to stream his dying live on the internet, so there is that to live up to!
- soVeryTired 4y agoDid Taco get himself cancelled or something? Way back when, slashdot was every bit as central to tech culture as HN is today.
- h2odragon 4y agoCmdrTaco was/is a good person [1], but as a moderator he had biases and faults like many others. Before Slashdot, there was Usenet, and Mr Spafford was one of several there who helped explore what "online community" might mean. There's a few BBS sysops I could list too but they're not as widely famous and in some cases were always pseudonyms anyway. [1] insofar as a vi user can be
- harabat 4y agoDang, you're a model for my own communication style, a source of indirect advice for a project that I'm building (one day I'll be ready to reach out to you for direct advice), and someone I see as an example of a good human. Thank you!
- jamesbfb 4y agoLong time lurker, seldom poster, thanks Dan G! As a mod for one of the bigger tech subreddits, I take queues from your moderating style. Peace! And happy holidays!
- Extigy 4y agoThanks Dang! Appreciate all the work you put in!
- attilaberczik 4y agomerry xmas!
- civopsec 4y agoNo appreciation from me.
- walljm 4y agoThanks dang! It can be a difficult job, and you do it well. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
- nonrandomstring 4y agoYou run a good ship. Thanks for the well managed forum. Happy hols.
- vmatsiiako 4y agoThank you Dang! Happy holidays!
- dtgriscom 4y agoFrom one Dan G. to another (?), thanks.
- raverbashing 4y agoAs much as I have my share of beefs with the site, I know that Dan.G has a thankless and Sisyphean task Happy Holidays and try to relax a bit (I don't even know when does he manage to get some sleep, for real)
- unsupp0rted 4y agoCertainly not thankless. I am thankful. We are thankful.
- berniedurfee 4y agoDang this is the best place on the internet and for as long as it lasts, I appreciate your hard work and commitment!
- anyfactor 4y agoHas Dang ever done any AMA? Would love to know how he doesn't get burnt out. I once emailed him about a very minor thing, he replied at the same day and was very accomodating. I was very happy about that but at the same time was very confused. I bet he is getting hundreds of email like that but how does he manage the time for them?
- tantalor 4y agohttps://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/the-lonely-work-of-moderating-hacker-news https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/th...
- TreeRingCounter 4y agoWhile I really dislike the track of moderation policy on HN over the last 5+ years, I do have a lot of respect for dang being willing to engage in earnest discussion about moderation when prompted.
- anyfactor 4y agoI came here in 2019, and I personally think, HN is LinkedIn but with anonymous people. Most people I know professionally know my HN handle. At least for me, the idea of HN being a place where people exercise free flowing polarizing ideas is pretty foreign. Everyone here follows a particular framework, but I wouldn't call it monolithic. I am not exactly sure, how it was 5 years ago, but I have seen some older HN users. They are busy with their family, and they have outdoorsy hobbies now. So, I think you will always see new blood in this place with different ideas and cultural values, while the older users getting more interested in carpentry or sailing their boats.
- TreeRingCounter 4y ago> At least for me, the idea of HN being a place where people exercise free flowing polarizing ideas is pretty foreign Precisely. HN used to be a lot more about discussing novel/controversial ideas freely. That kind of discussion is ruthlessly suppressed now.
- ChewFarceSkunk 4y agoScreenshotting this thread as a valueable appendix to my thesis on Stockholm syndrome.
- aliswe 4y agodang worship!
- kushan2020 4y agoWe want to build our heroes and feel good about ourselves at the end of the day.
- roflyear 4y agoI think dang is genuinely a good person, or even great person. How could he not be? I do also think the moderation guidelines on HN are pretty hot garbage and almost impossible to follow without losing almost all substance.
- erdevs 4y agoHappy holidays, dang! Thank you for all the effort you pour into making HN as useful and vibrant a forum as it can be. You help set the bar for productive online discourse, and that means something and is more and more important in the world.
- tgv 4y agoThanks, indeed. With the increasing traffic, and the spikes in polarization, it must get harder to keep up every year.
- evandale 4y agoHappy holidays and thanks for making this such a great space dang! Hacker News is my new favourite site for news in 2022.
- donpott 4y agoAll of my interactions with dang have been extremely positive. He is one of the main reasons why HN is the community it is. Thank you for all you do and happy holidays!!!
- onemoresoop 4y agoHappy Holidays Dang!
- cm_silva 4y agoHN is not perfect but it's Pretty Damn Good, and in no small part thanks to Dan. Happy Hollidays, everybody ;-)
- CSMastermind 4y agoThis place is a refuge for me in the modern world of online discourse. I'm deeply indebted to those who made it and keep it running.
- rhaway84773 4y agoHappy holidays! Thanks for almost single-handedly keeping this place from devolving.
- brushfoot 4y agoTo think I've been pronouncing it like the minced oath all these years. Maybe it is, but now my head's going to insist on "Danjee," rhymes with Angie. Hacker News, a.k.a. DanG's List. ;) Sincerely, thanks, Dan, for all you do here. HN has some of the most polite and thought-provoking online discussions I know of thanks in no small part to your work, and I come back year after year for it. You've helped make this place a hugely valuable resource and just a genuinely nice hangout spot. Thanks again and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
- marak830 4y agoYou just made me realise I've been pronouncing in as in dangle, I know it's Dan G but for some reason my mind refuses that when reading it XD
- libraryatnight 4y agoThe internet sucks, HN sucks less than most and its in no small part due to Dang - thanks Dang.
- 93po 4y agoThanks for dealing with my bullshit dang, and the bullshit of everyone else that doesn't all-that-strictly follow the guidelines every single time
- newbieuser 4y agoI really respect people who think this is a really good moderation on this site. Your belief that something that does not exist exists is truly astonishing.
- insane_dreamer 4y agoHN is ~~probably~~ the best online forum I've found since Slashdot in its original glory (/r/AskHistorians is pretty good too). Kudos to dang and anyone else who does the moderating (and to the users who post, of course.) edit: not "probably"
- bryan0 4y agoAnyone else think dang would make a great guest on Lex Fridman’s podcast??
- pomian 4y agoMerry Christmas! And thanks.
- robswc 4y agoHN is literally the only place online that doesn't feel like a toxic environment. Reminds me of older internet forums where you can have your arguments but at the end of the day, you realize everyone is on the same team more or less. That has been a blessing.
- KMag 4y ago> HN is literally the only place online that doesn't feel like a toxic environment. I don't doubt that this is your lived experience, but if that's the case, you might want to consider adjusting your media diet. There are nearly infinitely many calm little corners.
- robswc 4y agoFair, I totally can believe it. I think between HN and some group chats I have all my “online socializing” covered though :)
- _8j50 4y agoThanks @dang but please stop "shadow bans" & ridiculous post limits.
- BonitaPersona 4y agoThank you Dang. I hope you understand and feel how many people you are affecting positively. What a direct positive impact you have on so many people that share some core values and/or affinity.
- LoveMortuus 4y agoThank you Dang, our supreme Overlord. We hear your orders to build more pylons at every corner of HN. May your judgement be just and eternal. <3
- NetOpWibby 4y agoI spent time on Lobste.rs to see what "the other HN" was like and man...the moderation there is draconian and just. Weird. It's odd, because the only reason I learned about that site was a comment here from someone unhappy with being moderated. All that to say, HN, while irritating at times, is definitely better (for me) overall thanks to dang and the rest of the mod squad.
- rajnathani 4y agoI'm curious: How does dang manage moderation when he's unwell for a few days, or has some personal event/emergency to attend to? I ask as it seems that dang is always moderating HN.