4 ms·

Some odd comments and voting patterns on a lot of things. It's getting weird around here.

scarecrowbob 6mo ago
Well, it's a weird site. Most of my interactions are through the /active page or specific search terms. When I started to do that in about 2021 it certainly made it a lot easier to find what I as curious about. Unfortunately, what I wanted to know also changed, in that I now use the site to keep tabs on the thoughts of folks are or who fund and work for hard-right technocrats. There are, of course, many other folks on the site. At the same time, the US techno-fascists both have an outsized influence on our lives and it's much harder to find their voices in other places: folks who, for instance, think Peter Thiel is of course quite sane and probably not trying to figure out a way to kill vast chunks of us off (and that it would be a reasonable thing if he were).
- lovich 6mo ago
  I’m not sure I understood you correctly. You think critics of Thiel are the techno fascists?
  - mcmcmc 6mo ago
    I think they are saying they want to track the ideas of people who support techno-fascists like Thiel and who don't think that ideology is insane, and that it can be difficult to find them online
  - gryn 6mo ago
    he's not talking about his critics but his supporters & people like Thiel.
  - fc417fc802 6mo ago
    Indeed you read that backwards. He's saying that Thiel supporters and apologists can be found on HN more easily than on other sites. I'm not sure what to make of that claim though - he doesn't (or rather the events related to his companies that make it to the front page don't) seem very popular around here to me.
    - ishouldstayaway 6mo ago
      > he doesn't (or rather the events related to his companies that make it to the front page don't) seem very popular around here to me. This is a more recent turn, and one that happened later than in other online social spaces. Claiming that HN leans in a direction friendly to tech VC is hardly controversial.
      - fc417fc802 6mo ago
        Seems like you're conflating "friendly to tech VC" and "Thiel supporter" there. Certainly there will be some overlap but they're different things. Neither is not jumping on the latest popular bandwagon a show of support in the opposite direction.
  - lovich 6mo ago
    Too late to edit, but based on the reply’s I got I didn’t interpret the comment incorrectly. Seems like it’s time for bed then.
  - technothrasher 6mo ago
    Scarecrowbob misused a colon, which I think is why you interpreted their post the way you did. But from the other context of the post, they clearly think the opposite.
- rapnie 6mo ago
  > At the same time, the US techno-fascists both have an outsized influence on our lives and it's much harder to find their voices in other places Big Tech social media are perfect platforms to drive people and society apart. Yesterday suddenly Youtube passed a vid [0] through the algorithmic filter bubble they feed me, showing Marco Rubio (or a deepfake version?) spew divisive misinfo about Macron and France. Most telling that none of the comments had a critical word on Rubio. Only Rubio fan comments behing highly critical of Europe and the EU. Big Tech social media is pure poison to healthy society in how it insidiously spreads misinformation and propaganda to targeted audiences. [0] No URL. I don't want to give this clicks, but the shorts vid ID is pgvVw5bZWiA
  - watwut 6mo ago
    By divisive you mean lies and venon? Maybe we should stop using euphemisms.
    - rapnie 6mo ago
      Yes, lies and venom. With 'divisive' I was also thinking of the new US national security policy that calls for driving the EU apart into individual vasal states, and Rubio doing that dirty work in the vid, shielded by algorithms.
potsandpans 6mo ago
I would say there was a marked turning point of weirdness right around jan 31 2025
ActorNightly 6mo ago
It should be pretty obvious that any major social media website is fully botted these days. News is coming out how reddit, twitch e.t.c. are full of fake accounts. This site is no different. Try to say something negative about Apple products and you get instantly downvoted.
- layer8 6mo ago
  You are underestimating Apple’s RDF.

Well, it's a weird site. Most of my interactions are through the /active page or specific search terms. When I started to do that in about 2021 it certainly made it a lot easier to find what I as curious about. Unfortunately, what I wanted to know also changed, in that I now use the site to keep tabs on the thoughts of folks are or who fund and work for hard-right technocrats. There are, of course, many other folks on the site. At the same time, the US techno-fascists both have an outsized influence on our lives and it's much harder to find their voices in other places: folks who, for instance, think Peter Thiel is of course quite sane and probably not trying to figure out a way to kill vast chunks of us off (and that it would be a reasonable thing if he were).

lovich 6mo ago
I’m not sure I understood you correctly. You think critics of Thiel are the techno fascists?
- mcmcmc 6mo ago
  I think they are saying they want to track the ideas of people who support techno-fascists like Thiel and who don't think that ideology is insane, and that it can be difficult to find them online
- gryn 6mo ago
  he's not talking about his critics but his supporters & people like Thiel.
- fc417fc802 6mo ago
  Indeed you read that backwards. He's saying that Thiel supporters and apologists can be found on HN more easily than on other sites. I'm not sure what to make of that claim though - he doesn't (or rather the events related to his companies that make it to the front page don't) seem very popular around here to me.
  - ishouldstayaway 6mo ago
    > he doesn't (or rather the events related to his companies that make it to the front page don't) seem very popular around here to me. This is a more recent turn, and one that happened later than in other online social spaces. Claiming that HN leans in a direction friendly to tech VC is hardly controversial.
    - fc417fc802 6mo ago
      Seems like you're conflating "friendly to tech VC" and "Thiel supporter" there. Certainly there will be some overlap but they're different things. Neither is not jumping on the latest popular bandwagon a show of support in the opposite direction.
- lovich 6mo ago
  Too late to edit, but based on the reply’s I got I didn’t interpret the comment incorrectly. Seems like it’s time for bed then.
- technothrasher 6mo ago
  Scarecrowbob misused a colon, which I think is why you interpreted their post the way you did. But from the other context of the post, they clearly think the opposite.
rapnie 6mo ago
> At the same time, the US techno-fascists both have an outsized influence on our lives and it's much harder to find their voices in other places Big Tech social media are perfect platforms to drive people and society apart. Yesterday suddenly Youtube passed a vid [0] through the algorithmic filter bubble they feed me, showing Marco Rubio (or a deepfake version?) spew divisive misinfo about Macron and France. Most telling that none of the comments had a critical word on Rubio. Only Rubio fan comments behing highly critical of Europe and the EU. Big Tech social media is pure poison to healthy society in how it insidiously spreads misinformation and propaganda to targeted audiences. [0] No URL. I don't want to give this clicks, but the shorts vid ID is pgvVw5bZWiA
- watwut 6mo ago
  By divisive you mean lies and venon? Maybe we should stop using euphemisms.
  - rapnie 6mo ago
    Yes, lies and venom. With 'divisive' I was also thinking of the new US national security policy that calls for driving the EU apart into individual vasal states, and Rubio doing that dirty work in the vid, shielded by algorithms.

potsandpans 6mo ago

I would say there was a marked turning point of weirdness right around jan 31 2025

ActorNightly 6mo ago

It should be pretty obvious that any major social media website is fully botted these days. News is coming out how reddit, twitch e.t.c. are full of fake accounts. This site is no different. Try to say something negative about Apple products and you get instantly downvoted.

layer8 6mo ago
You are underestimating Apple’s RDF.