3 ms·

There are a number of flagged comments which don't deserve it. And as long as there is no outlet for objecting to poor flagging decisions, I'll use the comments

There are a number of flagged comments which don't deserve it. And as long as there is no outlet for objecting to poor flagging decisions, I'll use the comments section to call attention to it. If we are going to have a discussion about a performer unafraid of controversy and who struggled with mental and spiritual concerns publicly, a robust conversation should be allowed.

dang 3y ago
The flagged comments I'm aware of are either taking the thread into flamewar, and/or on generic tangents. Those are correct uses of flags. If there's something I've missed about this, I'm happy to take a look, but I'd need a specific link. "Robust" can mean a lot of things. HN's intended purpose is curious conversation. If we allow the predictably-outraged type of thread here, it will quickly take over discussion of most stories. If that happens, it will quickly destroy the forum. This is not a small risk—it's the biggest one. It would be foolish not to take it seriously, and we work hard to prevent it. Ironically, that sometimes leads to the perception that the forum is fine, so why not allow a few robust fires to burn here and there? The answer is that the forum is not fine. It's at constant risk of burning to a crisp [1], and our primary responsibility is to stave that off [2], to the extent that we can. That said, if there's truly high-quality conversation going on in any of these flagged subthreads, I'd like to see it. My experience in general is that flamewar doesn't go along with high-quality conversation at all. It's extremely exciting, of course—but from an intellectual-curiosity point of view, inert and boring, as anything predictable is [3]. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html [1] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20crisp%20burn&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... [2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=stave%20off%20by%3Adang&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... [3] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=curiosity%20repetition%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so...
- unethical_ban 3y ago
  As always, know I understand the work you do and that a healthy online community requires a heavy hand sometimes. I suppose my argument is that there is more room for personal criticisms, negatives comments and unsubstantiated opinion in a thread discussing a public figure's life than a more technical/abstract topic. That is all; I won't push the subject.
  - dang 3y ago
    Thanks for the kind reply. We're not trying to shut down those things—only the predictable/indignant/flamey stuff. Is there a flagged post that you think is the former but not the latter?
- jawns 3y ago
  My comment was flagged, even though I was trying to provide context to explain why she experienced such a strong reaction to her SNL stunt. The parent comment and many supportive sibling comments remain unflagged, which leaves the impression that I was downvoted and flagged simply because people didn't like a more critical viewpoint, not because the comment lacked substance or was intended to inflame.
  - CoastalCoder 3y ago
    Unfortunately there are some topics that would be genuinely interesting to discuss, but which the HN community just doesn't handle well. IMHO the best approach is to just try to spot those threads early, and maybe find other forums to discuss them [1]. [1] Finding suitable forums is left as an exercise to the reader. Maybe it requires in-person discussion with people who will assume each other's best intentions.
  - dang 3y ago
    Ok, I've turned the flags off that comment.

dang 3y ago

The flagged comments I'm aware of are either taking the thread into flamewar, and/or on generic tangents. Those are correct uses of flags. If there's something I've missed about this, I'm happy to take a look, but I'd need a specific link. "Robust" can mean a lot of things. HN's intended purpose is curious conversation. If we allow the predictably-outraged type of thread here, it will quickly take over discussion of most stories. If that happens, it will quickly destroy the forum. This is not a small risk—it's the biggest one. It would be foolish not to take it seriously, and we work hard to prevent it. Ironically, that sometimes leads to the perception that the forum is fine, so why not allow a few robust fires to burn here and there? The answer is that the forum is not fine. It's at constant risk of burning to a crisp [1], and our primary responsibility is to stave that off [2], to the extent that we can. That said, if there's truly high-quality conversation going on in any of these flagged subthreads, I'd like to see it. My experience in general is that flamewar doesn't go along with high-quality conversation at all. It's extremely exciting, of course—but from an intellectual-curiosity point of view, inert and boring, as anything predictable is [3]. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html [1] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20crisp%20burn&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... [2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=stave%20off%20by%3Adang&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... [3] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=curiosity%20repetition%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so...

unethical_ban 3y ago
As always, know I understand the work you do and that a healthy online community requires a heavy hand sometimes. I suppose my argument is that there is more room for personal criticisms, negatives comments and unsubstantiated opinion in a thread discussing a public figure's life than a more technical/abstract topic. That is all; I won't push the subject.
- dang 3y ago
  Thanks for the kind reply. We're not trying to shut down those things—only the predictable/indignant/flamey stuff. Is there a flagged post that you think is the former but not the latter?
jawns 3y ago
My comment was flagged, even though I was trying to provide context to explain why she experienced such a strong reaction to her SNL stunt. The parent comment and many supportive sibling comments remain unflagged, which leaves the impression that I was downvoted and flagged simply because people didn't like a more critical viewpoint, not because the comment lacked substance or was intended to inflame.
- CoastalCoder 3y ago
  Unfortunately there are some topics that would be genuinely interesting to discuss, but which the HN community just doesn't handle well. IMHO the best approach is to just try to spot those threads early, and maybe find other forums to discuss them [1]. [1] Finding suitable forums is left as an exercise to the reader. Maybe it requires in-person discussion with people who will assume each other's best intentions.
- dang 3y ago
  Ok, I've turned the flags off that comment.