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That's not entirely accurate, FWIW. It's pretty simple to prove that certain topics get penalized without direct user/mod action (or at least, used to--presumab

That's not entirely accurate, FWIW. It's pretty simple to prove that certain topics get penalized without direct user/mod action (or at least, used to--presumably via a keyword filter): http://www.righto.com/2013/11/how-hacker-news-ranking-really-works.html http://www.righto.com/2013/11/how-hacker-news-ranking-really... (and discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6799854 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6799854) I built a version of the front page that calculated penalties "live" and allowed the user to see what the front page would look like without penalties. It was interesting, but I haven't had time to update it for use with the new HN search API.

tptacek 12y ago
There is a small penalty, "the second smallest on the site", for NSA topics. But 'dang has been pointing out that it's flags that are knocking these stories down the rankings, not that small penalty; the point of that penalty is that it is supposed to be easy for important stories to overcome it. The NSA penalty could not exist at all, and the stories we're talking about here still wouldn't have ranked.
- napoleond 12y ago
  Right, but that seems like a different statement than "HN isn't suppressing these stories"--HN is suppressing the stories, both as a community (via flags) and through its administrators (via software). The "second smallest" penalty on the site has a pretty substantial impact, FWIW (I'm not complaining). EDIT: I created this comment and grandparent purely in the context of this subthread, after reading 'tptacek's parent comment. In future I'll check the overall context first--it strikes me that my attempt to inject interesting commentary and correct what I viewed as a minor piece of misinformation about how HN works might actually be adding fuel to a fire that I'd rather not feed--I am grateful for the level of moderation that 'dang and the gang exert, and even more grateful for community members who know how to use the flag button and then actually use it in an appropriate fashion.
TheLoneWolfling 12y ago
I, for one, would appreciate it if you patched up news-yc.appspot.com to work with the new API.

tptacek 12y ago

There is a small penalty, "the second smallest on the site", for NSA topics. But 'dang has been pointing out that it's flags that are knocking these stories down the rankings, not that small penalty; the point of that penalty is that it is supposed to be easy for important stories to overcome it. The NSA penalty could not exist at all, and the stories we're talking about here still wouldn't have ranked.

napoleond 12y ago
Right, but that seems like a different statement than "HN isn't suppressing these stories"--HN is suppressing the stories, both as a community (via flags) and through its administrators (via software). The "second smallest" penalty on the site has a pretty substantial impact, FWIW (I'm not complaining). EDIT: I created this comment and grandparent purely in the context of this subthread, after reading 'tptacek's parent comment. In future I'll check the overall context first--it strikes me that my attempt to inject interesting commentary and correct what I viewed as a minor piece of misinformation about how HN works might actually be adding fuel to a fire that I'd rather not feed--I am grateful for the level of moderation that 'dang and the gang exert, and even more grateful for community members who know how to use the flag button and then actually use it in an appropriate fashion.

TheLoneWolfling 12y ago

I, for one, would appreciate it if you patched up news-yc.appspot.com to work with the new API.