5 ms·

obviously not going to take it down, but it has 6 flags in 36 minutes (a very high number), and with a few more it will fall off the front page.

by sama 12y ago

shostack 12y ago
This is an interesting phenomenon. Given that the story is arguably fairly relevant to the recent investment by Sam, what safeguards are in place to ensure that content like this can't be taken out of the public light by a "reporting brigade?"
- minimaxir 12y ago
  > what safeguards are in place to ensure that content like this can't be taken out of the public light by a "reporting brigade?" There are no safeguards against reporting, which is why certain types of threads (gender, diversity) rarely hit the front page, unfortunately. Many users associate Reddit content with low-quality content, so flagging would not be surprising. Almost every HN submission I've seen linking to reddit.com has been flagged down.
  - tptacek 12y ago
    Gender and diversity threads don't hit the front-page because the decorum in those threads is so bad that they both trigger automated self-defense mechanisms in the HN code (the "flame war detector") and inspire flags. I try not to flag those stories, because I agree with the people who have qualms about HN effectively brushing those stories under the rug, but I've flagged some of the more hopeless-seeming variants.
- tptacek 12y ago
  What's a "reporting brigade"? I've never met Sam and am not a Reddit fan, and I flagged this story, because it's just drama.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  - fragmede 12y ago
    Assuming you're not trolling; "brigading" is you talk to all your similarly, minded peers on IRC with long-standing, legitimate HN accounts to flag the story because it annoys you. (Different from a voting ring, which may include non-legitimate accounts and lacks the 'tit-for-tat') I haven't flagged it because it's more than stupid high school drama, it's an object lesson - is the person who would become CEO on the startup team you're joining/funding likely to behave in a similar fashion? Because CEO Yishan just opened up Reddit to a potentially expensive, but more importantly, distracting lawsuit. It may have saved face in the all important young-male demographic that Reddit caters to, and probably felt good as the CEO to be able to perform to such a public 'smackdown' of a former employee 'running his mouth off', but as as developer it says quite a bit about the the companies culture if the CEO bullies people like that. "Taking the high road" is how professionals act towards other professionals, and while the former employee was far from professional, that might have been the better option for the Reddit CEO to take. Even waiting a few days to make sure the 'i's were dotted, and 't's were crossed by the legal team, followed by a (short) public blog post refuting the most disparaging remarks made would have been less childish and more responsible would have been better.
    - tptacek 12y ago
      Unfamiliar with IRC slang, because don't hang out on IRC. Wasn't looking for an opportunity to relitigate the whole pointless thread on this subthread.
      - Crito 12y ago
        Brigading is not IRC slang. It is web forum slang, perhaps reddit specific. I've only heard it in the reddit/HN context, never in IRC. IRC is nevertheless a popular way to 'organize' such 'brigades'.
orky56 12y ago
Assuming sufficient admin intervention, I personally believe controversial stories should have a place on HN. Sure, some of them will result in flame wars in the comments but for the most part it allows us to discover content that is worth discussing in the first place.
jsmthrowaway 12y ago
Since the flag button seems to operate as a super downvote (and its UI is ostensibly "get the mods' attention" unless you know this) do you feel like the current system is useful? Should flag be a super downvote, or should it just get your attention? Is "both" useful? I resist clicking flag because I know how hard it hits a story, and based on what you're saying, it seems like people are pretty free with flagging (which might be affecting controversial stories inordinately). Not that you'd compare your UI to Reddit's, but: Reddit's "report" function gets the mods' attention but does not impact the submission, to my knowledge. Recently, to cull people reporting things they just don't like, there's now a modal that pops up when you click it to demand a reason.

obviously not going to take it down, but it has 6 flags in 36 minutes (a very high number), and with a few more it will fall off the front page.

by sama 12y ago

obviously not going to take it down, but it has 6 flags in 36 minutes (a very high number), and with a few more it will fall off the front page.

shostack 12y ago

This is an interesting phenomenon. Given that the story is arguably fairly relevant to the recent investment by Sam, what safeguards are in place to ensure that content like this can't be taken out of the public light by a "reporting brigade?"

minimaxir 12y ago
> what safeguards are in place to ensure that content like this can't be taken out of the public light by a "reporting brigade?" There are no safeguards against reporting, which is why certain types of threads (gender, diversity) rarely hit the front page, unfortunately. Many users associate Reddit content with low-quality content, so flagging would not be surprising. Almost every HN submission I've seen linking to reddit.com has been flagged down.
- tptacek 12y ago
  Gender and diversity threads don't hit the front-page because the decorum in those threads is so bad that they both trigger automated self-defense mechanisms in the HN code (the "flame war detector") and inspire flags. I try not to flag those stories, because I agree with the people who have qualms about HN effectively brushing those stories under the rug, but I've flagged some of the more hopeless-seeming variants.
tptacek 12y ago
What's a "reporting brigade"? I've never met Sam and am not a Reddit fan, and I flagged this story, because it's just drama.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- fragmede 12y ago
  Assuming you're not trolling; "brigading" is you talk to all your similarly, minded peers on IRC with long-standing, legitimate HN accounts to flag the story because it annoys you. (Different from a voting ring, which may include non-legitimate accounts and lacks the 'tit-for-tat') I haven't flagged it because it's more than stupid high school drama, it's an object lesson - is the person who would become CEO on the startup team you're joining/funding likely to behave in a similar fashion? Because CEO Yishan just opened up Reddit to a potentially expensive, but more importantly, distracting lawsuit. It may have saved face in the all important young-male demographic that Reddit caters to, and probably felt good as the CEO to be able to perform to such a public 'smackdown' of a former employee 'running his mouth off', but as as developer it says quite a bit about the the companies culture if the CEO bullies people like that. "Taking the high road" is how professionals act towards other professionals, and while the former employee was far from professional, that might have been the better option for the Reddit CEO to take. Even waiting a few days to make sure the 'i's were dotted, and 't's were crossed by the legal team, followed by a (short) public blog post refuting the most disparaging remarks made would have been less childish and more responsible would have been better.
  - tptacek 12y ago
    Unfamiliar with IRC slang, because don't hang out on IRC. Wasn't looking for an opportunity to relitigate the whole pointless thread on this subthread.
    - Crito 12y ago
      Brigading is not IRC slang. It is web forum slang, perhaps reddit specific. I've only heard it in the reddit/HN context, never in IRC. IRC is nevertheless a popular way to 'organize' such 'brigades'.

orky56 12y ago

Assuming sufficient admin intervention, I personally believe controversial stories should have a place on HN. Sure, some of them will result in flame wars in the comments but for the most part it allows us to discover content that is worth discussing in the first place.

jsmthrowaway 12y ago

Since the flag button seems to operate as a super downvote (and its UI is ostensibly "get the mods' attention" unless you know this) do you feel like the current system is useful? Should flag be a super downvote, or should it just get your attention? Is "both" useful? I resist clicking flag because I know how hard it hits a story, and based on what you're saying, it seems like people are pretty free with flagging (which might be affecting controversial stories inordinately). Not that you'd compare your UI to Reddit's, but: Reddit's "report" function gets the mods' attention but does not impact the submission, to my knowledge. Recently, to cull people reporting things they just don't like, there's now a modal that pops up when you click it to demand a reason.