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You're trying to attribute reason and justification. You have 0 insight into why however many people clicked the 'flag' button. In fact, there's no way to even

You're trying to attribute reason and justification. You have 0 insight into why however many people clicked the 'flag' button. In fact, there's no way to even enter a reason. I'm looking at the simple fact that flagging/disappearing an article with 150 comments by a select minority is abhorrent in of itself. (Doubly ridiculous is the disappeared article is about disappearing people.) Again, if you're too triggered about a subject matter, close the tab. Turns out, that's a really simple operation.

infecto 2y ago
Please don’t project, no one’s triggered, at least not me. This kind of language is why these threads get flagged. The comments are low-signal rehashes without new value and just fuel tribal conflict. People can vouch, but that may still lead to moderation.
- ModernMech 2y ago
  > Please don’t project.... This kind of language is why these threads get flagged. As the person who you responded to noted, you don't know why other people flagged a thread. None of us do. That you believe it's due to tribal battles is your own projection. What's not a projection is that many people chose to have a discussion on a topic despite the flag, and that's interesting, so maybe worth discussing.
  - infecto 2y ago
    I am one of the flaggers. I do have some idea and that’s why I said don’t project ideas. This is the exact reason. I am simply saying these stories usually miss the mark for HN, you are welcome to vouch for it.
    - ModernMech 2y ago
      You said: "This kind of language is why these threads get flagged. " But you don't know that, so the claim is projection. As a flagger, you only know why you flagged, but don't know why anyone else flagged. There are many alternative reasons any given story, political or otherwise, could be flagged. People can be engaging in tribalism as their reason for flagging. What's worse: engaging in discussion that is along tribal lines, or hiding discussion for tribal reasons? Which does more damage to this community? Since we can't know why a given story is flagged, a better discussion might be: given that many people in the community want to discuss a topic despite a flag, how can HN better support those community members? We have one signal: a low-fidelity binary flag we can't know the reason for and how many people voted for it; and another signal: the discussion, a high fidelity signal we can look into and see all kinds of useful discourse. So clearly your claim that these topics are not wanted on HN is false, given the community involvement in these topics. Maybe there is some tribalism, but generally it's not at all like reddit, and I find those discussion insightful. Maybe you don't, and that's fine. But why does that mean you get veto over the many people who want to have those discussions here? Why can't we support those discussions, that again people here want to have, in a way that doesn't involve treating the topic as verboten? Because you keep saying these topics miss the HN mark, yet the community is continually interested in these topics. So maybe it's the guidelines miss the mark and need updating to meet the community where it's at.
      - infecto 2y ago
        You are free to vouch and introduce moderators into the process. It still is flagged but it may happen. What nuance do you think the prior discussion that was flagged added?
        ModernMech 2y ago
        In general reading political-charged discussions here gives me insight into how people with opposing viewpoints think. And yes I'm aware of how the flag and vouch system works. My point was that given the amount of discussion that occurs every day about how this mechanism is failing to meet community needs, perhaps HN needs to start talking about better ways to serve the people.
- mystraline 2y ago
  There is no projection. However there is a large difference in mindset between the following: 1. I don't like the topic or the conversation, so I'm closing the tab or leaving. 2. I'm going to shit on the people who are talking, and force THEM to leave. That's what flagging does. And I'm arguing that flagging a post with 150+ comments where people are having spirited discussions is a terrible poisonous thing for a community.
  - infecto 2y ago
    I could not speak on the prior post. I did not flag it. But you are indeed projecting intent and feelings because you yourself have strong feelings in it. That’s ok. I can speak for myself, I don’t care to see political posts that don’t involve anything new and also have low signal in the discussion. You end with either side either demonizing or praising. Again that’s simply my take on it which might differ from others. It’s not I don’t like the topic but rather I don’t want HN to be another space that gets overwhelmed with political talk. Same with discussions on Israel vs Palestine.

infecto 2y ago

Please don’t project, no one’s triggered, at least not me. This kind of language is why these threads get flagged. The comments are low-signal rehashes without new value and just fuel tribal conflict. People can vouch, but that may still lead to moderation.

ModernMech 2y ago
> Please don’t project.... This kind of language is why these threads get flagged. As the person who you responded to noted, you don't know why other people flagged a thread. None of us do. That you believe it's due to tribal battles is your own projection. What's not a projection is that many people chose to have a discussion on a topic despite the flag, and that's interesting, so maybe worth discussing.
- infecto 2y ago
  I am one of the flaggers. I do have some idea and that’s why I said don’t project ideas. This is the exact reason. I am simply saying these stories usually miss the mark for HN, you are welcome to vouch for it.
  - ModernMech 2y ago
    You said: "This kind of language is why these threads get flagged. " But you don't know that, so the claim is projection. As a flagger, you only know why you flagged, but don't know why anyone else flagged. There are many alternative reasons any given story, political or otherwise, could be flagged. People can be engaging in tribalism as their reason for flagging. What's worse: engaging in discussion that is along tribal lines, or hiding discussion for tribal reasons? Which does more damage to this community? Since we can't know why a given story is flagged, a better discussion might be: given that many people in the community want to discuss a topic despite a flag, how can HN better support those community members? We have one signal: a low-fidelity binary flag we can't know the reason for and how many people voted for it; and another signal: the discussion, a high fidelity signal we can look into and see all kinds of useful discourse. So clearly your claim that these topics are not wanted on HN is false, given the community involvement in these topics. Maybe there is some tribalism, but generally it's not at all like reddit, and I find those discussion insightful. Maybe you don't, and that's fine. But why does that mean you get veto over the many people who want to have those discussions here? Why can't we support those discussions, that again people here want to have, in a way that doesn't involve treating the topic as verboten? Because you keep saying these topics miss the HN mark, yet the community is continually interested in these topics. So maybe it's the guidelines miss the mark and need updating to meet the community where it's at.
    - infecto 2y ago
      You are free to vouch and introduce moderators into the process. It still is flagged but it may happen. What nuance do you think the prior discussion that was flagged added?
      - ModernMech 2y ago
        In general reading political-charged discussions here gives me insight into how people with opposing viewpoints think. And yes I'm aware of how the flag and vouch system works. My point was that given the amount of discussion that occurs every day about how this mechanism is failing to meet community needs, perhaps HN needs to start talking about better ways to serve the people.
mystraline 2y ago
There is no projection. However there is a large difference in mindset between the following: 1. I don't like the topic or the conversation, so I'm closing the tab or leaving. 2. I'm going to shit on the people who are talking, and force THEM to leave. That's what flagging does. And I'm arguing that flagging a post with 150+ comments where people are having spirited discussions is a terrible poisonous thing for a community.
- infecto 2y ago
  I could not speak on the prior post. I did not flag it. But you are indeed projecting intent and feelings because you yourself have strong feelings in it. That’s ok. I can speak for myself, I don’t care to see political posts that don’t involve anything new and also have low signal in the discussion. You end with either side either demonizing or praising. Again that’s simply my take on it which might differ from others. It’s not I don’t like the topic but rather I don’t want HN to be another space that gets overwhelmed with political talk. Same with discussions on Israel vs Palestine.