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The data is clearly not representative. Take a look at number one post in Show HN titled " OneBody Church Directory software I've been hacking on for 7 years".

The data is clearly not representative. Take a look at number one post in Show HN titled " OneBody Church Directory software I've been hacking on for 7 years". This post has 740 points | 203 comments, clearly very popular (number two has 77 points | 46 comments). Does it mean atheists are more open responding to polls about spirituality?

danso 12y ago
This is not true. The top post is: "OneBody Church Directory software I've been hacking on for 7 years" I suspect that many, many HNers, myself included, upvoted because of this: "software I've been hacking on for 7 years" It's great whenever someone shows off their side project, and astonishing when it's a project they've diligently maintained for a generation in web-dev years.
- MichaelGG 12y ago
  Agree. As much as I'm against religion, I found the software to be neat. The thread seemed to contain the same sentiment by multiple users.
ryandvm 12y ago
I would agree with your supposition that atheists are disproportionately interested in taking part in polls about religion - particularly on sites with a palpable anti-religious bias.
lotharbot 12y ago
Not everyone who commented on the OneBody thread is Christian, or religious in any way. Past polls and discussions suggest that HN is somewhere around 3/4 non-religious (with various flavors of atheism and agnosticism most prevalent) and 1/4 religious (with various flavors of Christianity most prevalent). This thread is no different. But HN also has a high regard for technical prowess and interesting projects, combined with a low tolerance for douchebaggery. Which means that interesting projects that happen to be targeted toward Christians (particularly one that could be easily forked for other religious or non-religious groups) can generate a lot of positive discussion... and the sort of people making snarky remarks about "imaginary friends" will tend to get downvoted/flagged into oblivion.

danso 12y ago

This is not true. The top post is: "OneBody Church Directory software I've been hacking on for 7 years" I suspect that many, many HNers, myself included, upvoted because of this: "software I've been hacking on for 7 years" It's great whenever someone shows off their side project, and astonishing when it's a project they've diligently maintained for a generation in web-dev years.

MichaelGG 12y ago
Agree. As much as I'm against religion, I found the software to be neat. The thread seemed to contain the same sentiment by multiple users.

ryandvm 12y ago

I would agree with your supposition that atheists are disproportionately interested in taking part in polls about religion - particularly on sites with a palpable anti-religious bias.

lotharbot 12y ago

Not everyone who commented on the OneBody thread is Christian, or religious in any way. Past polls and discussions suggest that HN is somewhere around 3/4 non-religious (with various flavors of atheism and agnosticism most prevalent) and 1/4 religious (with various flavors of Christianity most prevalent). This thread is no different. But HN also has a high regard for technical prowess and interesting projects, combined with a low tolerance for douchebaggery. Which means that interesting projects that happen to be targeted toward Christians (particularly one that could be easily forked for other religious or non-religious groups) can generate a lot of positive discussion... and the sort of people making snarky remarks about "imaginary friends" will tend to get downvoted/flagged into oblivion.