4 ms·

The rule is, if you have a question about moderation, then email info@ycombinator.com. Don't make an HN post about it. Therefore, it's not really surprising t

The rule is, if you have a question about moderation, then email info@ycombinator.com. Don't make an HN post about it. Therefore, it's not really surprising that someone was banned for disobeying the rules. There doesn't seem to be anything especially worrisome here. Jacques, you could try sending an apology to info@ycombinator.com and ask if it'd be possible to restore your account. EDIT: It's beside the point whether he originally emailed them. Also, it's important to email info@ycombinator.com, not pg; you'll get a response that way, among other reasons.

ColinWright 13y ago
And you know he didn't because ... ? Having watched jacquesm over the years, I would expect he would have email PG before posting the "Ask HN". I have no proof of this, and it's possibly he didn't, but personally, I would've emailed, and if I got no reply, then I would've posted here as a backup in case PG was away. We can't know, and I'm not in a position of privilege, but it's consistent.
- jacquesm 13y ago
  > I would expect he would have email PG before posting the "Ask HN". Spot on.
jacquesm 13y ago
I don't feel like I have anything to apologize for. That said, I miss the ability to bookmark using HN but there are lots of other ways to fix that. No groveling from me, and apparently no more links, too bad.
- sillysaurus2 13y ago
  Wait, wait. You're an awesome person. Why are you doing this? Is it just excessive pride, or what? There's nothing wrong with accidentally breaking rules. And there's nothing wrong with thinking the rules are stupid. But why not spend the 3 minutes to make it right? I'm just trying to understand your reasoning. I'll miss your submissions. You should consider getting a Pinboard account for bookmarking. It's really a great, top-notch and no-nonsense service. Been using it for like two years now.
  - jacquesm 13y ago
    You're assuming I broke the rules by accident. I broke that rule on purpose and I'm more than happy to accept my 'punishment'. That said I think the arbitrary moderation borders on the ridiculous and reduces the participants of this board to the level of toddlers that are only allowed to discuss that which is permitted by the elders that know best.
    - sillysaurus2 13y ago
      I've had similar feelings before. But what if they've implemented the only moderation policy that anyone in the history of the internet has discovered to actually work well for fostering discussion among capable people about interesting topics, consistently? The ruleset has evolved slowly over time; they weren't imposed arbitrarily. Each rule was to counteract a specific class of problems plaguing the site. For example, remember the painful discussion about the Airbnb fiasco a few years ago? It stayed on the site for like two days because an angry mob upvoted it so much. (I was a part of it, before later realizing that the story was designed specifically to incite an angry mob.) Etc. There are reasons to penalize certain kinds of content, and sorting it out is a very difficult process. But at least they're trying. I'm sillysaurus2 because I broke a rule on purpose on my old sillysaurus account. I asked if they'd unban my sillysaurus account, and they were nice enough to unban it. I stuck with sillysaurus2 rather than switching back -- no real reason, just felt like it -- but the point is that they're lenient and they understand that mistakes happen, on both sides of the fence. Contrast that with the policy of, say, /r/AskHistorians: I'm permabanned there for a stupid mistake, and their policy is to give no second chances under any circumstances. So at least these guys are reasonable, yeah? Yes, it's worrisome that they hold the power of deciding which discussions are penalized. But wouldn't you rather they hold the power rather than some other group? They genuinely believe in merit and good intentions, rather than just using those things as a smoke screen for greed, as some other groups do. It's not an ideal situation, but it's like democracy: it's the best anyone's thought of so far. But these are just my thoughts, and I'm really interested in hearing yours.
      - makomk 13y ago

ColinWright 13y ago

And you know he didn't because ... ? Having watched jacquesm over the years, I would expect he would have email PG before posting the "Ask HN". I have no proof of this, and it's possibly he didn't, but personally, I would've emailed, and if I got no reply, then I would've posted here as a backup in case PG was away. We can't know, and I'm not in a position of privilege, but it's consistent.

jacquesm 13y ago
> I would expect he would have email PG before posting the "Ask HN". Spot on.

jacquesm 13y ago

I don't feel like I have anything to apologize for. That said, I miss the ability to bookmark using HN but there are lots of other ways to fix that. No groveling from me, and apparently no more links, too bad.

sillysaurus2 13y ago
Wait, wait. You're an awesome person. Why are you doing this? Is it just excessive pride, or what? There's nothing wrong with accidentally breaking rules. And there's nothing wrong with thinking the rules are stupid. But why not spend the 3 minutes to make it right? I'm just trying to understand your reasoning. I'll miss your submissions. You should consider getting a Pinboard account for bookmarking. It's really a great, top-notch and no-nonsense service. Been using it for like two years now.
- jacquesm 13y ago
  You're assuming I broke the rules by accident. I broke that rule on purpose and I'm more than happy to accept my 'punishment'. That said I think the arbitrary moderation borders on the ridiculous and reduces the participants of this board to the level of toddlers that are only allowed to discuss that which is permitted by the elders that know best.
  - sillysaurus2 13y ago
    I've had similar feelings before. But what if they've implemented the only moderation policy that anyone in the history of the internet has discovered to actually work well for fostering discussion among capable people about interesting topics, consistently? The ruleset has evolved slowly over time; they weren't imposed arbitrarily. Each rule was to counteract a specific class of problems plaguing the site. For example, remember the painful discussion about the Airbnb fiasco a few years ago? It stayed on the site for like two days because an angry mob upvoted it so much. (I was a part of it, before later realizing that the story was designed specifically to incite an angry mob.) Etc. There are reasons to penalize certain kinds of content, and sorting it out is a very difficult process. But at least they're trying. I'm sillysaurus2 because I broke a rule on purpose on my old sillysaurus account. I asked if they'd unban my sillysaurus account, and they were nice enough to unban it. I stuck with sillysaurus2 rather than switching back -- no real reason, just felt like it -- but the point is that they're lenient and they understand that mistakes happen, on both sides of the fence. Contrast that with the policy of, say, /r/AskHistorians: I'm permabanned there for a stupid mistake, and their policy is to give no second chances under any circumstances. So at least these guys are reasonable, yeah? Yes, it's worrisome that they hold the power of deciding which discussions are penalized. But wouldn't you rather they hold the power rather than some other group? They genuinely believe in merit and good intentions, rather than just using those things as a smoke screen for greed, as some other groups do. It's not an ideal situation, but it's like democracy: it's the best anyone's thought of so far. But these are just my thoughts, and I'm really interested in hearing yours.
    - makomk 13y ago