4 ms·

It should, but it's impossible: the line between politics and tech is blurry, everything is political to some extent.

letmetweakit 9mo ago
They are intertwined these days, true, but maybe there should at least be a direct link between the tech and the political discussion around it.
- imcritic 9mo ago
  What are you talking about? What link? Link where to? Your initial question is "should this site be only for white news? I'm tired getting caught in discussions of black news!" You are being told, that it's impossible, since the world is not black and white: everything is of a shade of gray - either brighter or darker, but neither black, nor white.
chrisjj 9mo ago
But not everything is techy.
krapp 9mo ago
It shouldn't be, and it isn't. The guidelines explicitly state that Hacker News is not strictly for tech news and discussions, and the mods have said numerous times that politics is not de jure banned. And the guidelines make that clear as well. Just accept that some people want to discuss things other than computers and startups from time to time.
- sejje 9mo ago
  The guidelines also say this isn't a place for stuff you'd see on the news. Like Venezuela, the exact thing OP mentioned. There was no tech in the story, no overlap.
  - krapp 9mo ago
    Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, or celebrities, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic. Nowhere in there does it require "tech in the story." You may not consider anything non tech-related to be interesting, but that isn't your decision to enforce on behalf of the community.
    - sejje 9mo ago
      I didn't say it required tech, just that it didn't have any. It's exactly what they'd put on mainstream news. It IS mainstream news. I'm usually in the thread defending the unusual, non-tech posts. One of the most consequential reads of all time, for me, was a personal blog posted by Paul Buccheit about the death of his brother. I'm all about the intellectual curiosity aspect, so you read me wrong. The Venezuela story that is/was near the top of the front page is just pure politics. There's nothing else it brings. I'm not policing or enforcing things on behalf of the community, no need to be a smarmy jerk. I'm presenting my arguments just like you are. Thanks for the lesson, Chad.
      - krapp 9mo ago
        Mainstream news often involves tech too, so even that isn't a hard and fast heuristic. And it's never been the case that "pure politics" is off topic for HN. Most of the time someone dies and an obituary thread is posted it's mainstream news as well, yet you'll be flagged into oblivion for pointing that out. Here are some comments by dang clarifying the matter. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43142682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43142682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43272671 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43272671 Who tf is Chad?
        sejje 9mo ago
        I think we agree, you're just misrepresenting my position. The OP is talking about the Venezuela story on the front page. It's not a good example of what you're talking about.

They are intertwined these days, true, but maybe there should at least be a direct link between the tech and the political discussion around it.

imcritic 9mo ago
What are you talking about? What link? Link where to? Your initial question is "should this site be only for white news? I'm tired getting caught in discussions of black news!" You are being told, that it's impossible, since the world is not black and white: everything is of a shade of gray - either brighter or darker, but neither black, nor white.

chrisjj 9mo ago

But not everything is techy.

krapp 9mo ago

It shouldn't be, and it isn't. The guidelines explicitly state that Hacker News is not strictly for tech news and discussions, and the mods have said numerous times that politics is not de jure banned. And the guidelines make that clear as well. Just accept that some people want to discuss things other than computers and startups from time to time.

sejje 9mo ago
The guidelines also say this isn't a place for stuff you'd see on the news. Like Venezuela, the exact thing OP mentioned. There was no tech in the story, no overlap.
- krapp 9mo ago
  Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, or celebrities, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic. Nowhere in there does it require "tech in the story." You may not consider anything non tech-related to be interesting, but that isn't your decision to enforce on behalf of the community.
  - sejje 9mo ago
    I didn't say it required tech, just that it didn't have any. It's exactly what they'd put on mainstream news. It IS mainstream news. I'm usually in the thread defending the unusual, non-tech posts. One of the most consequential reads of all time, for me, was a personal blog posted by Paul Buccheit about the death of his brother. I'm all about the intellectual curiosity aspect, so you read me wrong. The Venezuela story that is/was near the top of the front page is just pure politics. There's nothing else it brings. I'm not policing or enforcing things on behalf of the community, no need to be a smarmy jerk. I'm presenting my arguments just like you are. Thanks for the lesson, Chad.
    - krapp 9mo ago
      Mainstream news often involves tech too, so even that isn't a hard and fast heuristic. And it's never been the case that "pure politics" is off topic for HN. Most of the time someone dies and an obituary thread is posted it's mainstream news as well, yet you'll be flagged into oblivion for pointing that out. Here are some comments by dang clarifying the matter. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43142682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43142682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43272671 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43272671 Who tf is Chad?
      - sejje 9mo ago
        I think we agree, you're just misrepresenting my position. The OP is talking about the Venezuela story on the front page. It's not a good example of what you're talking about.