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To be honest, it's time to ban Macro's blog from HN. Every time one of his trollbait posts hits the frontpage of this site (and they somehow always do), we have

To be honest, it's time to ban Macro's blog from HN. Every time one of his trollbait posts hits the frontpage of this site (and they somehow always do), we have these exact same discussions about how him and Gruber and Siegler are incapable of looking at the technology industry without bias.

skrebbel 14y ago
Wait, ban a site because it's consistently popular on HN? Clearly, many people here agree with him. (I don't, but that's OK)
- cooldeal 14y ago
  Funny, because Paul Thurrott's http://winsupersite.com http://winsupersite.com is completely banned from being on HN, most probably from overzealous MS haters flagging articles to death.
  - skrebbel 14y ago
    I think that's ridiculous too. In fact, I'm as much a fanboy of Microsoft as Marco is of Apple - my comment wasn't about the content, it was about the ridiculousness of banning popular sites about HN-typical topics.
  - levesque 14y ago
    Well it is a disgusting site (an ad over the article, really?). I hate both Microsoft and Apple equally and I'm glad this one is gone from HN.
- w1ntermute 14y ago
  That's such a double standard. Android is a much more popular smartphone OS than iOS, but Macro wouldn't make an Android version of Instapaper. He said it was because he didn't have time to develop for Android (though we all know the truth is that he just irrationally hates all non-Apple platforms) - perhaps we on HN just don't have the time to wade through useless trollbait posts like this one. And those HN users that agree with him and are upvoting the post (just like Android Instapaper users) aren't important.
  - rbanffy 14y ago
    > we all know the truth is that he just irrationally hates all non-Apple platforms That sure looks like an absolutely rational portrait of someone else's mind.
    - w1ntermute 14y ago
      If you'd actually read his past blog posts, you'd know that it's the only logical conclusion that can be drawn.
      - rbanffy 14y ago
        Supporting a second platform is a bit more involved than learning to program for Android. Since both Android and iOS currently have functionality that competes with Instapaper, I too wouldn't invest one single dime on it.
        w1ntermute 14y ago
        Supporting a second platform is indeed a significant investment. I'm aware of that - I'll never develop for iOS because that would mean I'd have to buy a Mac, buy an iOS device, learn Objective-C/iOS development, and how to navigate Apple's app approval gauntlet. However, there's a big difference in the numbers when you have an app with a lot of users. For example, you can have someone else make the app (which, to his credit, Marco did do after years of foot-dragging). Your point about competing functionality is moot, because that means he should abandon iOS as well. In fact, in that case, he should favor Android, since's Apple's draconian app approval policies means that Instapaper could suddenly get kicked out of the app store without notice. In any case, allowing Marco's blog on HN means that it pushes more other, more valuable content out of the way. By banning sites like his, we wouldn't have to waste time wading through his mindless drivel to find useful links.
eridius 14y ago
Trollbait? Writing an article that you personally disagree with is not trollbait, and it's rather ridiculous of you to claim that it is.
- rbanffy 14y ago
  For a troll, everything is troll bait .
S4M 14y ago
While I disagree with the option of banning this blog - it's pretty well written - I don't see why it always makes it to the front page. The TL;DR of this article is "Microsoft is blatantly trying to copy Apple but I still don't like Surface". That's his opinion and it's fine, but I don't see what else there is to learn from the post except for the fact that Marco is not going to buy the new Surface. So I'd be really curious to know what makes people on HN upvote this kind of stories.
- misnome 14y ago
  It's probably deliberate, to annoy the very vocal Marco-haters.
rbanffy 14y ago
> we have these exact same discussions about how him and Gruber and Siegler are incapable of looking at the technology industry without bias. The most vicious discussions come from people who cannot see the tech industry without their own biases opposite to the one in the articles. Should we ban those too?

skrebbel 14y ago

Wait, ban a site because it's consistently popular on HN? Clearly, many people here agree with him. (I don't, but that's OK)

cooldeal 14y ago
Funny, because Paul Thurrott's http://winsupersite.com http://winsupersite.com is completely banned from being on HN, most probably from overzealous MS haters flagging articles to death.
- skrebbel 14y ago
  I think that's ridiculous too. In fact, I'm as much a fanboy of Microsoft as Marco is of Apple - my comment wasn't about the content, it was about the ridiculousness of banning popular sites about HN-typical topics.
- levesque 14y ago
  Well it is a disgusting site (an ad over the article, really?). I hate both Microsoft and Apple equally and I'm glad this one is gone from HN.
w1ntermute 14y ago
That's such a double standard. Android is a much more popular smartphone OS than iOS, but Macro wouldn't make an Android version of Instapaper. He said it was because he didn't have time to develop for Android (though we all know the truth is that he just irrationally hates all non-Apple platforms) - perhaps we on HN just don't have the time to wade through useless trollbait posts like this one. And those HN users that agree with him and are upvoting the post (just like Android Instapaper users) aren't important.
- rbanffy 14y ago
  > we all know the truth is that he just irrationally hates all non-Apple platforms That sure looks like an absolutely rational portrait of someone else's mind.
  - w1ntermute 14y ago
    If you'd actually read his past blog posts, you'd know that it's the only logical conclusion that can be drawn.
    - rbanffy 14y ago
      Supporting a second platform is a bit more involved than learning to program for Android. Since both Android and iOS currently have functionality that competes with Instapaper, I too wouldn't invest one single dime on it.
      - w1ntermute 14y ago
        Supporting a second platform is indeed a significant investment. I'm aware of that - I'll never develop for iOS because that would mean I'd have to buy a Mac, buy an iOS device, learn Objective-C/iOS development, and how to navigate Apple's app approval gauntlet. However, there's a big difference in the numbers when you have an app with a lot of users. For example, you can have someone else make the app (which, to his credit, Marco did do after years of foot-dragging). Your point about competing functionality is moot, because that means he should abandon iOS as well. In fact, in that case, he should favor Android, since's Apple's draconian app approval policies means that Instapaper could suddenly get kicked out of the app store without notice. In any case, allowing Marco's blog on HN means that it pushes more other, more valuable content out of the way. By banning sites like his, we wouldn't have to waste time wading through his mindless drivel to find useful links.

eridius 14y ago

Trollbait? Writing an article that you personally disagree with is not trollbait, and it's rather ridiculous of you to claim that it is.

rbanffy 14y ago
For a troll, everything is troll bait .

S4M 14y ago

While I disagree with the option of banning this blog - it's pretty well written - I don't see why it always makes it to the front page. The TL;DR of this article is "Microsoft is blatantly trying to copy Apple but I still don't like Surface". That's his opinion and it's fine, but I don't see what else there is to learn from the post except for the fact that Marco is not going to buy the new Surface. So I'd be really curious to know what makes people on HN upvote this kind of stories.

misnome 14y ago
It's probably deliberate, to annoy the very vocal Marco-haters.

rbanffy 14y ago

> we have these exact same discussions about how him and Gruber and Siegler are incapable of looking at the technology industry without bias. The most vicious discussions come from people who cannot see the tech industry without their own biases opposite to the one in the articles. Should we ban those too?