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I don't imply an ideal of neutrality; no online community is ideologically neutral, and neutrality isn't a merit to strive for. It's just that most participants
by mgunes 13y ago
I don't imply an ideal of neutrality; no online community is ideologically neutral, and neutrality isn't a merit to strive for. It's just that most participants seem to have internalized a supposedly meritocratic "whatever is interesting to good hackers floats to the top" mental model regarding how HN works, when that simply isn't the case. Every online community turns into a self-censoring echo chamber with time, and given its origins and initial purpose, the precise kind of echo chamber that HN has been turned into shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
- phillmv 13y agoThe part that bothers me is that it's not self-censoring. It's being actively censored, and sometimes the motives being the penalization are obnoxious; everything that doesn't directly promote california imperialism gets shunted to the side. I believe it to be uncontroversial that all communities need some moderation, but the lack of transparency or involved around these parts has always made me feel uncomfortable. I distinctly recall some articles on gender inequality in the industry…
- davidgerard 13y agoWell, duh. The actual purpose of HN is as an advertising and recruitment tool for YC. It's certainly not for the benefit of casual commenters like ourselves. I think of it as a more tech-oriented form of television. Possibly one of those high-hundreds cable channels.
- jacalata 13y agoWait, everyone thinks its a clean pure meritocracy but it is actually a complicated system of structural penalties and personal bias that sees specific apparently meritorious posts prevented from reaching the top? That reminds me of something....