5 ms·

There is a large discussion on the subject here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7445761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7445761

sounds 13y ago
I'm scratching my head about what the guidelines are around commenting and endorsing. Here's what I've gathered by looking through pg's comments: (in addition to what he originally posted) • Parameters are loose (click link for more) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447668 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447668 • You can post 5 pending comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447568 • You can endorse at 500 karma https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447701 • Might get a showpending https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447613 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447613 • Might make it more AJAXy https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447778 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447778 • Users can retract pending comments with the delete link https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446490 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446490 • The HN feature suggestion thread is exempt https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446395 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446395 • A code snippet showing how it works https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446596 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446596 • in this thread: "turning it off for now"
- sentenza 13y ago
  I find it interesting that the original description [1], if followed to the letter, will with a very high probability kill (all?) user contributions over time. Here's why: It says that you can't post another comment when you have a comment pending. Let's assume that: a) Most "good" contributors write comments of varying quality (maybe on average 90% good 10% not so good) b) Most people, when they interrupt their work flow to participate in the HN community, write on average more than one comment (if they comment at all). So inevitably, the average user will repeatedly bump into the "can't comment, have to wait" wall. Which is inconvenient and constitutes a blunt reminder of the "value asymmetry" between the site and the lowly user. I'd say it is fairly reasonable to assume that being stopped and having to wait is rather off-putting to most HN users. So it hangs on how many repetitions of the wait cycle the average HN user can stand. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7445761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7445761
whatevsbro 13y ago
Summary: Censorship by group-think. Unharmonious comments will just never be seen.
- krapp 13y ago
  maybe, maybe not? There are enough 1k+ karma posters that, at least unless the karma bar is either raised or a lot of malcontents are culled, consensus on controversial topics is likely to be impossible. At least I hope so.
  - whatevsbro 13y ago
    > unless the karma bar is either raised or a lot of malcontents are culled, consensus on controversial topics is likely to be impossible Well _of course_ consensus on controversial topics is impossible. That's kind of what makes them controversial topics. But how is that related to whether you never even see controversial posts because group-think has not resulted in uncensoring them?
    - krapp 13y ago
      Because it's almost certain someone in that pool is going to be willing to endorse it. It's too fragile a system to allow for groupthink to be enforced.
- crusso 13y ago
  The guidelines don't mention anything about "unharmonious". They only recommend to avoid endorsing posts without content like "this" style comments, and comments that are made in an aggressive non-collegial way. If that's group think, then awesome. Let the group think begin.
  - wpietri 13y ago
    Are you telling me that every truth you have ever recognized has been conveyed to you in the most collegial of ways? I can recall a number of occasions where somebody told me something important and they might as well have started out with "Look, asshole". Deservedly so, because I was not just wrong but wrong in a way that was conveniently self-serving and harmful to them. I would also like to see the dickishness taken down a notch or three here. But if it comes at the cost of making this more of an echo chamber, then it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

sounds 13y ago

I'm scratching my head about what the guidelines are around commenting and endorsing. Here's what I've gathered by looking through pg's comments: (in addition to what he originally posted) • Parameters are loose (click link for more) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447668 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447668 • You can post 5 pending comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447568 • You can endorse at 500 karma https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447701 • Might get a showpending https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447613 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447613 • Might make it more AJAXy https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447778 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7447778 • Users can retract pending comments with the delete link https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446490 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446490 • The HN feature suggestion thread is exempt https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446395 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446395 • A code snippet showing how it works https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446596 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7446596 • in this thread: "turning it off for now"

sentenza 13y ago
I find it interesting that the original description [1], if followed to the letter, will with a very high probability kill (all?) user contributions over time. Here's why: It says that you can't post another comment when you have a comment pending. Let's assume that: a) Most "good" contributors write comments of varying quality (maybe on average 90% good 10% not so good) b) Most people, when they interrupt their work flow to participate in the HN community, write on average more than one comment (if they comment at all). So inevitably, the average user will repeatedly bump into the "can't comment, have to wait" wall. Which is inconvenient and constitutes a blunt reminder of the "value asymmetry" between the site and the lowly user. I'd say it is fairly reasonable to assume that being stopped and having to wait is rather off-putting to most HN users. So it hangs on how many repetitions of the wait cycle the average HN user can stand. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7445761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7445761

whatevsbro 13y ago

Summary: Censorship by group-think. Unharmonious comments will just never be seen.

krapp 13y ago
maybe, maybe not? There are enough 1k+ karma posters that, at least unless the karma bar is either raised or a lot of malcontents are culled, consensus on controversial topics is likely to be impossible. At least I hope so.
- whatevsbro 13y ago
  > unless the karma bar is either raised or a lot of malcontents are culled, consensus on controversial topics is likely to be impossible Well _of course_ consensus on controversial topics is impossible. That's kind of what makes them controversial topics. But how is that related to whether you never even see controversial posts because group-think has not resulted in uncensoring them?
  - krapp 13y ago
    Because it's almost certain someone in that pool is going to be willing to endorse it. It's too fragile a system to allow for groupthink to be enforced.
crusso 13y ago
The guidelines don't mention anything about "unharmonious". They only recommend to avoid endorsing posts without content like "this" style comments, and comments that are made in an aggressive non-collegial way. If that's group think, then awesome. Let the group think begin.
- wpietri 13y ago
  Are you telling me that every truth you have ever recognized has been conveyed to you in the most collegial of ways? I can recall a number of occasions where somebody told me something important and they might as well have started out with "Look, asshole". Deservedly so, because I was not just wrong but wrong in a way that was conveniently self-serving and harmful to them. I would also like to see the dickishness taken down a notch or three here. But if it comes at the cost of making this more of an echo chamber, then it will be a Pyrrhic victory.