4 ms·

> Either way, it's impossible to have a level discussion about it because the Muskovites are arrow-clicking en force. Have you actually tried, or are you preem

> Either way, it's impossible to have a level discussion about it because the Muskovites are arrow-clicking en force. Have you actually tried, or are you preemptively censoring yourself? Regardless, internet points shouldn't stop a person from speaking what's on their mind.

worstspotgain 2y ago
Yes, I made a critical comment and it was instantly flagged.
- 1123581321 2y ago
  I think it was flagged because it was a pumpkin spice joke and “no thanks but no thanks.” Couching sharply critical comments in a few more explanatory lines would probably help the reaction. I see some longer comments from people who dislike Musk that are doing better.
  - worstspotgain 2y ago
    It was an emphatic way of criticizing the political motivations behind Musk's pushes into social media and AI, not a joke. Either way, the downvoting and flagging were almost instant, which I suspect might be the reason why this comment section is looking atypically pro-Musk overall.
    - read_if_gay_ 2y ago
      [dead]
  - n4r9 2y ago
    For the benefit of non-US users, what is a "pumpkin spice joke" please?
    - diffeomorphism 2y ago
      Not a type of joke but just a joke making fun of pumpkin spice. Context: - "pumpkin spice" is a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and possibly other spices, commonly used for pumpkin dishes. - Some people like it and around fall you can find it applied to just about everything no matter whether it seems like a good fit. E.g. pumpkin spice latte (coffee), pie, bread, ..... Joke part: just what the world needed, pumpkin spice bacon.
- read_if_gay_ 2y ago
  >We need an alt-right version of AI like we need a pumpkin spice sushiccino. No thanks but no thanks. darn muskovites downvoting deeply thought provoking, critical comments
  - worstspotgain 2y ago
    You won't find me flagging this deeply thought-provoking critical comment of your own.
    - read_if_gay_ 2y ago
      the difference is you really won’t find me crying about it
      - worstspotgain 2y ago
        You've done nothing but mock and decry a stranger's answer to someone else's provocative question. I don't actually care about your opinion, but the tactics certainly smack of alt-right projection. Decry perceived MSM censorship, only to pursue it and justify it for themselves. Buy Twitter, make yet another chatbot, then "massage" moderation systems when people point out that it's not only crappy and redundant, it's also alt-right.
- bheadmaster 2y ago
  I assume you're talking about this comment: We need an alt-right version of AI like we need a pumpkin spice sushiccino. No thanks but no thanks. It was flagged because it is against HN guidelines [0], in particular these ones: Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet tropes. Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - worstspotgain 2y ago
    You commented on my opinion that it's "impossible to have a level discussion." You asked me if I tried commenting, and I answered you. What motivated my opinion is not just whether my comment deserved flagging or not (and I see a lot of comments that may be more deserving of it by the logic you quoted.) It's the fact that it got downvoted and flagged almost instantly.
    - jorvi 2y ago
      You won't ever convince the people here that having your comment sent into the gray is detrimental. Not to mention the 1-9-90 rule[0], meaning 90% of people don't even understand how annoying it is to have a good comment sent into the gray. According to to them, getting your comment grayed out means its still technically there, so you aren't getting censored by the bandwagon. They fail to understand that graying out your comment signals to the cursory viewer that it is a low quality comment. Whereas often it is not. You might comment something that is factually right, but goes against HN's vibe du jour, so you get one or two downvotes, and then the larger group starts mass-clicking ▼ without any critical thought. A much more healthy system would just be sorting comments by vote activity and percentage-positive. It would still make controversial comments slightly less visible, but because there is not explicit signal of quality, no bandwagon effects. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule
      - oezi 2y ago
        > 90% of people don't even understand how annoying it is to have a good comment sent into the gray Even if 90% of users are lurkers it doesn't mean they don't know how it feels to be downvoted and can't emphasize. Good comments are rarely downvoted disproportionately on HN. Perceived censorship "by the bandwagon" just means it isn't a good comment.
_cenw 2y ago
keeps them from being heard though! I've experienced some wild swings in comment score on here. the diversity of thought is generally enough that some comments elicit such strong positive or negative feelings, that a comment that'd otherwise be in the positive or somewhat neutral can hit the hidden threshold if it gets unlucky almost instantly.

worstspotgain 2y ago

Yes, I made a critical comment and it was instantly flagged.

1123581321 2y ago
I think it was flagged because it was a pumpkin spice joke and “no thanks but no thanks.” Couching sharply critical comments in a few more explanatory lines would probably help the reaction. I see some longer comments from people who dislike Musk that are doing better.
- worstspotgain 2y ago
  It was an emphatic way of criticizing the political motivations behind Musk's pushes into social media and AI, not a joke. Either way, the downvoting and flagging were almost instant, which I suspect might be the reason why this comment section is looking atypically pro-Musk overall.
  - read_if_gay_ 2y ago
    [dead]
- n4r9 2y ago
  For the benefit of non-US users, what is a "pumpkin spice joke" please?
  - diffeomorphism 2y ago
    Not a type of joke but just a joke making fun of pumpkin spice. Context: - "pumpkin spice" is a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and possibly other spices, commonly used for pumpkin dishes. - Some people like it and around fall you can find it applied to just about everything no matter whether it seems like a good fit. E.g. pumpkin spice latte (coffee), pie, bread, ..... Joke part: just what the world needed, pumpkin spice bacon.
read_if_gay_ 2y ago
>We need an alt-right version of AI like we need a pumpkin spice sushiccino. No thanks but no thanks. darn muskovites downvoting deeply thought provoking, critical comments
- worstspotgain 2y ago
  You won't find me flagging this deeply thought-provoking critical comment of your own.
  - read_if_gay_ 2y ago
    the difference is you really won’t find me crying about it
    - worstspotgain 2y ago
      You've done nothing but mock and decry a stranger's answer to someone else's provocative question. I don't actually care about your opinion, but the tactics certainly smack of alt-right projection. Decry perceived MSM censorship, only to pursue it and justify it for themselves. Buy Twitter, make yet another chatbot, then "massage" moderation systems when people point out that it's not only crappy and redundant, it's also alt-right.
bheadmaster 2y ago
I assume you're talking about this comment: We need an alt-right version of AI like we need a pumpkin spice sushiccino. No thanks but no thanks. It was flagged because it is against HN guidelines [0], in particular these ones: Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents. Omit internet tropes. Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- worstspotgain 2y ago
  You commented on my opinion that it's "impossible to have a level discussion." You asked me if I tried commenting, and I answered you. What motivated my opinion is not just whether my comment deserved flagging or not (and I see a lot of comments that may be more deserving of it by the logic you quoted.) It's the fact that it got downvoted and flagged almost instantly.
  - jorvi 2y ago
    You won't ever convince the people here that having your comment sent into the gray is detrimental. Not to mention the 1-9-90 rule[0], meaning 90% of people don't even understand how annoying it is to have a good comment sent into the gray. According to to them, getting your comment grayed out means its still technically there, so you aren't getting censored by the bandwagon. They fail to understand that graying out your comment signals to the cursory viewer that it is a low quality comment. Whereas often it is not. You might comment something that is factually right, but goes against HN's vibe du jour, so you get one or two downvotes, and then the larger group starts mass-clicking ▼ without any critical thought. A much more healthy system would just be sorting comments by vote activity and percentage-positive. It would still make controversial comments slightly less visible, but because there is not explicit signal of quality, no bandwagon effects. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule
    - oezi 2y ago
      > 90% of people don't even understand how annoying it is to have a good comment sent into the gray Even if 90% of users are lurkers it doesn't mean they don't know how it feels to be downvoted and can't emphasize. Good comments are rarely downvoted disproportionately on HN. Perceived censorship "by the bandwagon" just means it isn't a good comment.

_cenw 2y ago

keeps them from being heard though! I've experienced some wild swings in comment score on here. the diversity of thought is generally enough that some comments elicit such strong positive or negative feelings, that a comment that'd otherwise be in the positive or somewhat neutral can hit the hidden threshold if it gets unlucky almost instantly.