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Two questions: 1) Why is this on HN? 2) How in the world did it make it the the #2 spot (at the moment)? EDIT: Knew I would get downvoted. I now have as litt

Two questions: 1) Why is this on HN? 2) How in the world did it make it the the #2 spot (at the moment)? EDIT: Knew I would get downvoted. I now have as little respect for HN as I do for Reddit. You wouldn't believe how little respect I have for Reddit.

noir_lord 12y ago
1) Because someone posted it. 2) Because enough people up voted it.
krapp 12y ago
In a community based on karma and ranking, your personal predilections have little value, only the consensus determines quality. As such, your complaints about quality also have little value. Upvote what you want to see more of, downvote what you want to see less of, flag spam and abuse, and if you still don't like what bubbles up on HN, post more of the kind of content you would rather see.
- icantthinkofone 12y ago
  Nope. My personal 'predilections' have nothing to do with it. I thought HN had a theme other than McDonald's restaurant closings and that would make it off topic. Obiously not and anything goes here without moderation. So I'm done.
  - krapp 12y ago
    Don't let the door hit you where the Lord split you.
    - DanBC 12y ago
      That was needlessly rude, don't you think?
      - tluyben2 12y ago
        Sorry, English is not my first language so could you explain why that is rude? I guess it is means to not let the door hit you in the behind on the way out? Why is that rude?
        nitrogen 12y ago
        "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" is equivalent to "good riddance" as an expression of disdain. It's rude because offending someone already on their way out is a cheap shot, like kicking someone who is already down in a fight. The added colorfulness of the "split" variant makes this particular instance more offensive.
        krapp 12y ago
        Very rarely, when someone makes the point of announcing that they're leaving, do they actually do anything but stick around to watch the fireworks, or continue to troll through puppet accounts. Many of icantthinkofone's comments are complaints about how Hacker News doesn't meet their standards, meanwhile they've made two submissions - very little positive effort to improve the community. If they were serious about leaving, they wouldn't stick around to gripe as much as they have. I don't think flouncing deserves much civility, particularly as a response to a pronouncement that this place isn't worth someone's time.
        DanBC 12y ago
        You could just ignore them; or downvote then ignore. You say the user is trolling. You then responded to that user. In troll terms you lose they win. I like meatball wiki's way of talking about this stuff: http://meatballwiki.org/wiki/UsAndThem http://meatballwiki.org/wiki/UsAndThem
        krapp 12y ago
        You're probably right.
      - 12y ago
    - whitecat 12y ago
      I don't know why this is down voted. It is pretty funny. I guess it could be seen as rude but its to funny to get mad at.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    It seems that users do most of the moderation. So, if you think this submission doesn't belong you can flag it.
jacquesm 12y ago
2 submissions in 3 months and you're the one to complain? Submit what you'd like to see more of, if it gains traction then maybe you won't see what you don't want to see in slot 2. As an aside, you can simply ignore slot #2 and click on 'more' at the bottom and look at the first link on the next page. It's a workaround, but a surprisingly effective one.
DanBC 12y ago
Just out of interest: Why do you think this submission is off-topic? What exactly about it makes it off-topic? Maybe have another look at the guidelines for submissions. > On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. This story is mildly interesting, especially if you look past the "McDonald's never rot" meme and at the "Here's how one hotel advertises itself". Also remember that HN is much less busy on weekends and so different things bubble up. But, if you still think it shouldn't be here it's probably best to just flag it.
PeterWhittaker 12y ago
Don't feel bad. I've begun taking a perverse pleasure in learning which of my posts/comments will get downvoted. (Generally, anything criticizing HN darlings, e.g., Uber, will get downvoted. The echo chamber is strong.) I suspect you got downvoted because of a petulant realization of the inherent contradiction that many of us realize: This article really does not fit the HN guidelines at all yet we find it so intriguing. I believe the reasons we find it so intriguing are pretty obvious: We all of us, we hackers, love the exceptional, the one-of-its-kind, the historically significant if sufficiently curious, etc. We hack because the status quo isn't good enough. Getting that into a guideline is a bit tougher. I suspect I'll get downvoted because I just labelled the echo chamber as petulant. But that's a comfortable shoe, so so be it.
- detaro 12y ago
  > This article really does not fit the HN guidelines at all yet we find it so intriguing. See the guidelines. Basically, if many find it intriguing it probably is on-topic. > On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.
- DanBC 12y ago
  > Uber, will get downvoted Do you have any examples of your posts that you think got downvoted because you criticised Uber? I've made plenty of posts criticising Uber and got upvoes for most of those posts so I'm interested to see the difference.
  - mikeash 12y ago
    Seriously, Uber has to be the worst imaginable example. The general mood on Uber here is almost entirely critical at this point.
  - PeterWhittaker 12y ago
    A recent article used "Uber" as a verb, and poorly at that, and my comment upon the linkbaitiness and poor organization of the article got several downvotes. It wasn't about Uber directly, to be fair. And, of course, my comment parent to yours is being downvoted as well. (Which leads roundly to the question of the purpose of the downvote: To flag? Perhaps. To disagree? Hmm, perhaps actually writing a contrary or critical comment is more constructive. Other? Not sure. As I've stated often enough herein, I never downvote, I don't believe in it, I believe it serves no useful purpose (flag abuse, end of story), and believe that upvoting the good is sufficient to bury the bad. But I digress.)
mikerichards 12y ago
I'll tell you how. First you got, For many that was symbolic for the way Icelanders shun the capitalistic powers in Iceland following the crisis. That's red meat for the socialist, statist, anti-americans that infest HN now. You're right. HN is more of a joke than Reddit is now. The hive mind is hysterical.

noir_lord 12y ago

1) Because someone posted it. 2) Because enough people up voted it.

krapp 12y ago

In a community based on karma and ranking, your personal predilections have little value, only the consensus determines quality. As such, your complaints about quality also have little value. Upvote what you want to see more of, downvote what you want to see less of, flag spam and abuse, and if you still don't like what bubbles up on HN, post more of the kind of content you would rather see.

icantthinkofone 12y ago
Nope. My personal 'predilections' have nothing to do with it. I thought HN had a theme other than McDonald's restaurant closings and that would make it off topic. Obiously not and anything goes here without moderation. So I'm done.
- krapp 12y ago
  Don't let the door hit you where the Lord split you.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    That was needlessly rude, don't you think?
    - tluyben2 12y ago
      Sorry, English is not my first language so could you explain why that is rude? I guess it is means to not let the door hit you in the behind on the way out? Why is that rude?
      - nitrogen 12y ago
        "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" is equivalent to "good riddance" as an expression of disdain. It's rude because offending someone already on their way out is a cheap shot, like kicking someone who is already down in a fight. The added colorfulness of the "split" variant makes this particular instance more offensive.
        krapp 12y ago
        Very rarely, when someone makes the point of announcing that they're leaving, do they actually do anything but stick around to watch the fireworks, or continue to troll through puppet accounts. Many of icantthinkofone's comments are complaints about how Hacker News doesn't meet their standards, meanwhile they've made two submissions - very little positive effort to improve the community. If they were serious about leaving, they wouldn't stick around to gripe as much as they have. I don't think flouncing deserves much civility, particularly as a response to a pronouncement that this place isn't worth someone's time.
        DanBC 12y ago
        You could just ignore them; or downvote then ignore. You say the user is trolling. You then responded to that user. In troll terms you lose they win. I like meatball wiki's way of talking about this stuff: http://meatballwiki.org/wiki/UsAndThem http://meatballwiki.org/wiki/UsAndThem
        krapp 12y ago
        You're probably right.
    - 12y ago
  - whitecat 12y ago
    I don't know why this is down voted. It is pretty funny. I guess it could be seen as rude but its to funny to get mad at.
- DanBC 12y ago
  It seems that users do most of the moderation. So, if you think this submission doesn't belong you can flag it.

jacquesm 12y ago

2 submissions in 3 months and you're the one to complain? Submit what you'd like to see more of, if it gains traction then maybe you won't see what you don't want to see in slot 2. As an aside, you can simply ignore slot #2 and click on 'more' at the bottom and look at the first link on the next page. It's a workaround, but a surprisingly effective one.

DanBC 12y ago

Just out of interest: Why do you think this submission is off-topic? What exactly about it makes it off-topic? Maybe have another look at the guidelines for submissions. > On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. This story is mildly interesting, especially if you look past the "McDonald's never rot" meme and at the "Here's how one hotel advertises itself". Also remember that HN is much less busy on weekends and so different things bubble up. But, if you still think it shouldn't be here it's probably best to just flag it.

PeterWhittaker 12y ago

Don't feel bad. I've begun taking a perverse pleasure in learning which of my posts/comments will get downvoted. (Generally, anything criticizing HN darlings, e.g., Uber, will get downvoted. The echo chamber is strong.) I suspect you got downvoted because of a petulant realization of the inherent contradiction that many of us realize: This article really does not fit the HN guidelines at all yet we find it so intriguing. I believe the reasons we find it so intriguing are pretty obvious: We all of us, we hackers, love the exceptional, the one-of-its-kind, the historically significant if sufficiently curious, etc. We hack because the status quo isn't good enough. Getting that into a guideline is a bit tougher. I suspect I'll get downvoted because I just labelled the echo chamber as petulant. But that's a comfortable shoe, so so be it.

detaro 12y ago
> This article really does not fit the HN guidelines at all yet we find it so intriguing. See the guidelines. Basically, if many find it intriguing it probably is on-topic. > On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.
DanBC 12y ago
> Uber, will get downvoted Do you have any examples of your posts that you think got downvoted because you criticised Uber? I've made plenty of posts criticising Uber and got upvoes for most of those posts so I'm interested to see the difference.
- mikeash 12y ago
  Seriously, Uber has to be the worst imaginable example. The general mood on Uber here is almost entirely critical at this point.
- PeterWhittaker 12y ago
  A recent article used "Uber" as a verb, and poorly at that, and my comment upon the linkbaitiness and poor organization of the article got several downvotes. It wasn't about Uber directly, to be fair. And, of course, my comment parent to yours is being downvoted as well. (Which leads roundly to the question of the purpose of the downvote: To flag? Perhaps. To disagree? Hmm, perhaps actually writing a contrary or critical comment is more constructive. Other? Not sure. As I've stated often enough herein, I never downvote, I don't believe in it, I believe it serves no useful purpose (flag abuse, end of story), and believe that upvoting the good is sufficient to bury the bad. But I digress.)

mikerichards 12y ago

I'll tell you how. First you got, For many that was symbolic for the way Icelanders shun the capitalistic powers in Iceland following the crisis. That's red meat for the socialist, statist, anti-americans that infest HN now. You're right. HN is more of a joke than Reddit is now. The hive mind is hysterical.