5 ms·

Tell HN: HN is becoming too political

13 points by redm 1y ago

HN has always stood out for its focus on tech, but lately, almost every thread drifts into politics. This community should be a respite from the political maelstrom found everywhere else.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
cebert 1y ago
I agree. If I wanted to engage in political discussions or stay informed about current events, I could use Reddit or Bluesky. That's not what I come to HN for.
- bigyabai 1y ago
  I don't think technology or finance is apolitical, regardless of what we want from it. Whether or not that justifies ignoring the political side should be up to the individual.
- toomuchtodo 1y ago
  You might be out of luck when something isn’t what you wish it was. I’m here because the moderation is very good and to understand how the world works (both at macro and micro levels), despite the tech slop [1] (yet another redundant framework, all the AI drivel, what the latest hype cycle investment scam dressed as innovation is, etc). There is a hide button for threads not of interest [2], I find it useful to hide topics I'm not interested in, you might too. This is not to say you cannot continue to find gems of interesting tech related posts, but I find them to be few and far between. I find the Ask and Show HN posts to be my favorites. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44484996 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44484996 [2] Ask HN: Does anybody use the HN hide button? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34305451 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34305451 - Jan 2023 (i am mindful that HN is the result of people who won the capital investment lottery creating a space to encourage intellectual curiosity, and i do my best as a participant to respect that [3]; there is no Dan or Tom equivalent elsewhere, they are the value here [among other mods not overtly public]) [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43729126 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43729126
- ironmagma 1y ago
  When I think of content you'd find on HN, the essence is probably best captured by Paul Graham's essays. And yet, those are by and large political, in fact the very first one is. [1] [1] https://www.paulgraham.com/prop62.html https://www.paulgraham.com/prop62.html
techpineapple 1y ago
Maybe there should be filters? I prefer talking about politics with this crowd than say reddit or bluesky.
- giardini 1y ago
  Well, there goes the neighborhood!8-((
andersco 1y ago
Can you provide specific examples of threads that drift into politics?
markus_zhang 1y ago
With the current world gradually going down into a maelstrom which I believe most of us have never seen, it is a bit difficult to completely avoid political topics. But I do agree that political topics without technical contents should be removed.
JohnFen 1y ago
Tech itself has become extremely political. Silicon valley tech (which is the main focus of HN) even more so, and more intentionally so.
ironmagma 1y ago
Politics have escaped their sandbox, that's why. When you say "politics" what you actually mean is the disintegration of the whole system.
atmosx 1y ago
Politics shape every aspect of our lives. It is governance at the highest level (Plato named it "Techne Basilike"), and tech is directly impacted by policies, politics and everything in between. As long as the conversation stays civil and respectful, I see no issue. Of course, one can always ignore threads or topics that are not interesting (i.e. politically charged topics are easy to spot and avoid). ps. For me, this site's lowest point was when moderators insisted on keeping a thread about a technically complex attack, one that killed children and civilians, strictly "technical." I got strong "Into the Darkness[^1]" vibes. [^1]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/562714.Into_That_Darkness https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/562714.Into_That_Darknes... - Into That Darkness: An Examination of Conscience.
- Karrot_Kream 1y ago
  If that's true why are we discussing US partisan politics and not the fact that we're using the English language, itself a hegemonic auxiliary language imposed by the British Empire? Let's be real here. "Politics shape every aspect of our lives" is code for "I want to discuss US partisan politics all the time because I'm very anxious about it." I don't come to HN to offer therapy.

13 points by redm 1y ago

HN has always stood out for its focus on tech, but lately, almost every thread drifts into politics. This community should be a respite from the political maelstrom found everywhere else.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

cebert 1y ago

I agree. If I wanted to engage in political discussions or stay informed about current events, I could use Reddit or Bluesky. That's not what I come to HN for.

bigyabai 1y ago
I don't think technology or finance is apolitical, regardless of what we want from it. Whether or not that justifies ignoring the political side should be up to the individual.
toomuchtodo 1y ago
You might be out of luck when something isn’t what you wish it was. I’m here because the moderation is very good and to understand how the world works (both at macro and micro levels), despite the tech slop [1] (yet another redundant framework, all the AI drivel, what the latest hype cycle investment scam dressed as innovation is, etc). There is a hide button for threads not of interest [2], I find it useful to hide topics I'm not interested in, you might too. This is not to say you cannot continue to find gems of interesting tech related posts, but I find them to be few and far between. I find the Ask and Show HN posts to be my favorites. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44484996 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44484996 [2] Ask HN: Does anybody use the HN hide button? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34305451 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34305451 - Jan 2023 (i am mindful that HN is the result of people who won the capital investment lottery creating a space to encourage intellectual curiosity, and i do my best as a participant to respect that [3]; there is no Dan or Tom equivalent elsewhere, they are the value here [among other mods not overtly public]) [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43729126 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43729126
ironmagma 1y ago
When I think of content you'd find on HN, the essence is probably best captured by Paul Graham's essays. And yet, those are by and large political, in fact the very first one is. [1] [1] https://www.paulgraham.com/prop62.html https://www.paulgraham.com/prop62.html

techpineapple 1y ago

Maybe there should be filters? I prefer talking about politics with this crowd than say reddit or bluesky.

giardini 1y ago
Well, there goes the neighborhood!8-((

andersco 1y ago

Can you provide specific examples of threads that drift into politics?

markus_zhang 1y ago

With the current world gradually going down into a maelstrom which I believe most of us have never seen, it is a bit difficult to completely avoid political topics. But I do agree that political topics without technical contents should be removed.

JohnFen 1y ago

Tech itself has become extremely political. Silicon valley tech (which is the main focus of HN) even more so, and more intentionally so.

ironmagma 1y ago

Politics have escaped their sandbox, that's why. When you say "politics" what you actually mean is the disintegration of the whole system.

atmosx 1y ago

Politics shape every aspect of our lives. It is governance at the highest level (Plato named it "Techne Basilike"), and tech is directly impacted by policies, politics and everything in between. As long as the conversation stays civil and respectful, I see no issue. Of course, one can always ignore threads or topics that are not interesting (i.e. politically charged topics are easy to spot and avoid). ps. For me, this site's lowest point was when moderators insisted on keeping a thread about a technically complex attack, one that killed children and civilians, strictly "technical." I got strong "Into the Darkness[^1]" vibes. [^1]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/562714.Into_That_Darkness https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/562714.Into_That_Darknes... - Into That Darkness: An Examination of Conscience.

Karrot_Kream 1y ago
If that's true why are we discussing US partisan politics and not the fact that we're using the English language, itself a hegemonic auxiliary language imposed by the British Empire? Let's be real here. "Politics shape every aspect of our lives" is code for "I want to discuss US partisan politics all the time because I'm very anxious about it." I don't come to HN to offer therapy.