4 ms·
Why is this the top story on HN, let alone on the front page?
by mdesq 13y ago
Why is this the top story on HN, let alone on the front page?
- zizee 13y agoBecause it was voted there. If you want different sorts of stories checkout https://news.ycombinator.com/newest https://news.ycombinator.com/newest and vote for the ones that you want.
- mdesq 13y agoI obviously wasn't asking for the pedantic, condescending answer, so how is this an acceptable answer? Downvote me all you like; I was asking a legitimate question about how this fits the HN newsworthy criteria. "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics..." I realize there'a lot of patting ourselves on the back here that we're not as backwards as some random person/place, but it's not why I came to HN.
- Jtsummers 13y agoIt's not the pedantic answer, it's the answer. The content doesn't get here without up votes. So other people disagree with you on its relevance, or you and others that consider it irrelevant aren't doing your job and flagging it. In nearly every thread either clearly political or tangentially political someone like you asks this question. Just flag it and be done with it.
- martey 13y agoFrom the same FAQ you quoted: "Please don't submit comments complaining that a submission is inappropriate for the site."
- mcphilip 13y agoI submitted this story. There's no particular reason why it should have been front page material -- just the time of day it was submitted and the provocative title helped, I guess. I found it interesting and am a longform journalism fan. I thought others on HN might find it interesting so I submitted it. I have no particular political agenda [1] and don't necessarily agree with all the content of this piece, but it made me think about a challenging subject and seemed like it could launch an interesting discussion. Sorry it's not your cup of tea, just trying to add some variety to the HN submissions. [1] The only other longform piece I've submitted -- A Death at Tough Mudder -- is about the circumstances surrounding a participant's death at a spartan race. I don't read longform to pat myself on the back when I find articles I agree with. I read it to take a break from all things tech related and to learn about new things.
- mdesq 13y agoNo worries. Thank you for submitting it. It is interesting and I personally don't mind it. I was more commenting on the tendency (it seems to me) of HN to upvote different things than it used to. I also partly wanted to experiment and prove that the comment would be downvoted as I predicted. HN tends toward cliquishness, it seems to me.
- zizee 13y agoSorry, I wasn't trying to be condescending! What I was trying to say (not just to you) was the best way to change what is on the front page is by voting visiting the "newest" page and for stories that are interesting. I think that a lot of people never bother to checkout the "newest" page to vote on stories that they want to see. If there are a lot of people who agree with you and they put in some effort to promote stories that are interesting, then perhaps you can effect some change. I myself posted a link about SpaceX delaying their latest launch, that was scheduled to happen in a few hours. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7498494 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7498494 Not a single upvote! Personally, this suggests to me that no one is actually visiting the "newest" stories as it is something I would have thought would merit at least one upvote!