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Some of the most experienced members of Hacker News are very homogeneous in discouraging political discussions here. Many political discussions here are decried

Some of the most experienced members of Hacker News are very homogeneous in discouraging political discussions here. Many political discussions here are decried by many of the highest-karma users not because they are uninterested in politics (a lot of people here are passionately interested in politics) but because they think Hacker News isn't the place for political discussion. Those users have won me over to their way of thinking. They think, with warrant, that Hacker News has never developed a culture of careful fact-checking and truth-seeking in political discussion as it (partially) has in discussion of other issues. I fully agree that one of the main systemic biases here is a pro-computer-technology bias, and I will add that most thoughtful young people who have gone into programming and related careers have missed out on educational experiences that would prepare them for a deep understanding of politics, so it is not surprising that the political discussions here, when they occur, are often very shallow. That's why I'd rather discuss politics elsewhere than here.

arisAlexis 12y ago
I agree that this is a subject that is difficult to handle properly, but I also think that having a sense of what the rest of the community is about is important in communities that self-define. Note that my intention was to get a general feeling of the waters I am swimming in and what fellow fish look like, rather than discussing if a specific policy or view is superior.
pdkl95 12y ago
In general, the idea that politics should be considered "off-topic" here is understandable; the venues for that type of discussion are numerous, after all. Political problems that are also technical[1], on the other hand, are something for which we should make a exception. It could be said to that we have a duty to address those issues, because we (the greater population of technically-minded people) are the people with the necessary background to deal with the problem. Yes... we need a lot more practice in that area, and political discussions could be handled a lot better. Avoiding politics on technical forums entirely means it will have to be handled (at least in part) be handled elsewhere by people who lack some of the background. Thats still wors some of the time, but we've all seen the cases where a ruling is made or law is passed that isn't even close to reality. Put simply: we should really learn to clean up our own house, and that includes the hard and/or annoying political subjects. [1] examples: "Net Neutrality", the NSA imbroglio, some copyright/patent stuff (DMCA)

arisAlexis 12y ago

I agree that this is a subject that is difficult to handle properly, but I also think that having a sense of what the rest of the community is about is important in communities that self-define. Note that my intention was to get a general feeling of the waters I am swimming in and what fellow fish look like, rather than discussing if a specific policy or view is superior.

pdkl95 12y ago

In general, the idea that politics should be considered "off-topic" here is understandable; the venues for that type of discussion are numerous, after all. Political problems that are also technical[1], on the other hand, are something for which we should make a exception. It could be said to that we have a duty to address those issues, because we (the greater population of technically-minded people) are the people with the necessary background to deal with the problem. Yes... we need a lot more practice in that area, and political discussions could be handled a lot better. Avoiding politics on technical forums entirely means it will have to be handled (at least in part) be handled elsewhere by people who lack some of the background. Thats still wors some of the time, but we've all seen the cases where a ruling is made or law is passed that isn't even close to reality. Put simply: we should really learn to clean up our own house, and that includes the hard and/or annoying political subjects. [1] examples: "Net Neutrality", the NSA imbroglio, some copyright/patent stuff (DMCA)