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Why was this post removed?

dang 2y ago
Users flagged it. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40586961 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40586961 for how we approach this class of stories.
- nikolajan 2y ago
  Got it, thanks for the clarification
- dukodk 2y ago
  Nice to see the article is back! Is there anyway to see if it’s the topic of the article at play?
- aaomidi 2y ago
  Has there been a consideration of making the flag button do nothing for users that abuse it?
  - dang 2y ago
    Yes.
ein0p 2y ago
[flagged]
- runarberg 2y ago
  It is generally not cool to accuse HN users of astro-turfing. And given the size and influence of this platform, I would be kind of surprised if the Israeli cyber unit would even bother. I think it is much more likely these are actual HN users, a mix of those that a) don’t want to see Israel accused of anything, or probably even more common, b) really don’t want to see this issue pop up on HN—even when it is tech related, and even when it is from a beloved source like EFF.
  - pvg 2y ago
    Or even more likely, users are acting as described in the explanation above: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40586961 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40586961 Which doesn't require unfalsifiable attributions of bias or misuse of any sort.
    - runarberg 2y ago
      Those were the ones I meant by the (b) category.
      - pvg 2y ago
        The 'even' parts make it sound like you think those users are doing something wrong but neither of those things are really how HN works or is even supposed to work.
        runarberg 2y ago
        By “even” I simply meant I don’t agree with those users on a personal level. Specifically, I find this philosophy of copping out of difficult subjects lame. Obviously they aren’t doing anything wrong by HN standards/culture.
        pvg 2y ago
        Ok but what do those things have to do with 'difficult subjects'? 'related to tech' or 'published by the EFF' are not in themselves criteria for an automatic spot on the front page. Lots of things in either category get moderated away by users and moderators all the time.
        runarberg 2y ago
        If this was not of interest to the HN community it wouldn’t be voted to the front page. HN has a bias which favors some sources, including the EFF, so that in it self makes it more likely to be voted to the front page. But if the EFF would release a story about a puppy playing with a kitten at a tech conference I doubt HN users would find it interesting enough to vote it to the front page, so being from the EFF or being about tech isn’t enough. This story in particular has something which appeals to many HN users, so they up vote it. It also has something which others users don’t like, so they flag it. I’ve given my thoughts on the latter group, but as for the former group, I suspect this story is about a government meddling in social media, and that social media complied. It is a expose on current event, demonstrating with data what many people here expected. It contains quotes like: > Between October 7 and November 14, a total of 9,500 takedown requests were sent from the Israeli authorities to social media platforms, of which 60 percent went to Meta with a reported 94% compliance rate. This obviously appeals to a lot of HN users so they vote it up. I don’t disagree with the moderation policies on HN. This story got unflagged by moderators eventually, and I agree with that decision. I don’t disagree that users should should be able to flag stories to death for whichever reasons. All I think here is that I find some of these reasons lame. EDIT (a confession): I my self have flagged stories for very petty reasons some which would probably be considered lame by other HN users. So I’m actually a bit of a hypocrite here.

dang 2y ago

Users flagged it. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40586961 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40586961 for how we approach this class of stories.

nikolajan 2y ago
Got it, thanks for the clarification
dukodk 2y ago
Nice to see the article is back! Is there anyway to see if it’s the topic of the article at play?
aaomidi 2y ago
Has there been a consideration of making the flag button do nothing for users that abuse it?
- dang 2y ago
  Yes.

ein0p 2y ago

[flagged]

runarberg 2y ago
It is generally not cool to accuse HN users of astro-turfing. And given the size and influence of this platform, I would be kind of surprised if the Israeli cyber unit would even bother. I think it is much more likely these are actual HN users, a mix of those that a) don’t want to see Israel accused of anything, or probably even more common, b) really don’t want to see this issue pop up on HN—even when it is tech related, and even when it is from a beloved source like EFF.
- pvg 2y ago
  Or even more likely, users are acting as described in the explanation above: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40586961 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40586961 Which doesn't require unfalsifiable attributions of bias or misuse of any sort.
  - runarberg 2y ago
    Those were the ones I meant by the (b) category.
    - pvg 2y ago
      The 'even' parts make it sound like you think those users are doing something wrong but neither of those things are really how HN works or is even supposed to work.
      - runarberg 2y ago
        By “even” I simply meant I don’t agree with those users on a personal level. Specifically, I find this philosophy of copping out of difficult subjects lame. Obviously they aren’t doing anything wrong by HN standards/culture.
        pvg 2y ago
        Ok but what do those things have to do with 'difficult subjects'? 'related to tech' or 'published by the EFF' are not in themselves criteria for an automatic spot on the front page. Lots of things in either category get moderated away by users and moderators all the time.
        runarberg 2y ago
        If this was not of interest to the HN community it wouldn’t be voted to the front page. HN has a bias which favors some sources, including the EFF, so that in it self makes it more likely to be voted to the front page. But if the EFF would release a story about a puppy playing with a kitten at a tech conference I doubt HN users would find it interesting enough to vote it to the front page, so being from the EFF or being about tech isn’t enough. This story in particular has something which appeals to many HN users, so they up vote it. It also has something which others users don’t like, so they flag it. I’ve given my thoughts on the latter group, but as for the former group, I suspect this story is about a government meddling in social media, and that social media complied. It is a expose on current event, demonstrating with data what many people here expected. It contains quotes like: > Between October 7 and November 14, a total of 9,500 takedown requests were sent from the Israeli authorities to social media platforms, of which 60 percent went to Meta with a reported 94% compliance rate. This obviously appeals to a lot of HN users so they vote it up. I don’t disagree with the moderation policies on HN. This story got unflagged by moderators eventually, and I agree with that decision. I don’t disagree that users should should be able to flag stories to death for whichever reasons. All I think here is that I find some of these reasons lame. EDIT (a confession): I my self have flagged stories for very petty reasons some which would probably be considered lame by other HN users. So I’m actually a bit of a hypocrite here.