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I have to agree with burnte. The OP is brown nosing so hard it definitely looks like astro-turfing. Also, I disagree that calling out astroturfing is a violat

I have to agree with burnte. The OP is brown nosing so hard it definitely looks like astro-turfing. Also, I disagree that calling out astroturfing is a violation of the HN rules/guidelines. I can think of several recent threads where people have called out astroturfing and NOT been flagged and punished, and have actually been voted up. If nothing else, such an accusation should be refuted with evidence to the contrary, rather than getting flagged and removed.

dang 12y ago
Of course such accusations get voted up: they stoke indignation, which invariably gets voted up. That's a weakness of the voting system, not evidence of fairness. HN can't go by upvotes alone. Accusing someone of deliberately faking their comments in order to co-opt discussion for an external interest is so far beyond the pale of civility that I'm not sure what else to tell you. It's my job to interpret the guidelines. That is the interpretation.
- jlarocco 12y ago
  I guess it's just a little odd how the HN moderators are quick defending millionaire VC Marc Andreessen, but have had nothing to say when others have been accused of astroturfing. In the other cases, it's been enough to let the voting system do its work, but in this particular case, the mods are quick to point out the weaknesses of the voting system and accuse nay sayers of lacking civility.
  - dang 12y ago
    There may be a bit of sample bias here. Some recent comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9360470 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9360470 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9277068 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9277068 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9226682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9226682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9180466 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9180466 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9122086 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9122086 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9116181 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9116181 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9116049 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9116049 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9115965 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9115965 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9082641 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9082641 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8989514 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8989514 It's true that we don't catch everything; we don't see everything. If you or anyone would like to help, we'd be grateful. Gently reminding users not to break the guidelines is one way. Emailing us (hn@ycombinator.com) when you see them being broken is another.
- burnte 12y ago
  > Accusing someone of deliberately faking their comments in order to co-opt discussion for an external interest is so far beyond the pale of civility that I'm not sure what else to tell you. I truly and honestly believe you're seeing a level of animosity that genuinely is not there. I believe you may be reacting on a more reflexive level to a type of comment more than my actual comment, which is understandable to a degree. Yes, the first sentence said "you've more than earned your pay" but that sentence does not exist in a vacuum. It is immediately followed with a joke that to the vast majority of people would demonstrate a lighthearted mood in the comment, and I believe also would communicate to most people that my comment is a farcical statement. Yes, text is devoid of many contextual clues, but one context clue it is not missing is the entirely of the message. I understand your interpretation, and we can agree to disagree on that aspect, but I would urge you to reconsider the position that my comment was "so far beyond the pale of civility". I made a joke about the tone of his comment, I did not accuse his family of contributing to genocide.
  - dang 12y ago
    Oh, I'm definitely responding to the category of comment, and I totally believe you that you meant yours as a joke. But you're way, way overestimating how apparent that joke was.

dang 12y ago

Of course such accusations get voted up: they stoke indignation, which invariably gets voted up. That's a weakness of the voting system, not evidence of fairness. HN can't go by upvotes alone. Accusing someone of deliberately faking their comments in order to co-opt discussion for an external interest is so far beyond the pale of civility that I'm not sure what else to tell you. It's my job to interpret the guidelines. That is the interpretation.

jlarocco 12y ago
I guess it's just a little odd how the HN moderators are quick defending millionaire VC Marc Andreessen, but have had nothing to say when others have been accused of astroturfing. In the other cases, it's been enough to let the voting system do its work, but in this particular case, the mods are quick to point out the weaknesses of the voting system and accuse nay sayers of lacking civility.
- dang 12y ago
  There may be a bit of sample bias here. Some recent comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9360470 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9360470 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9277068 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9277068 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9226682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9226682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9180466 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9180466 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9122086 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9122086 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9116181 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9116181 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9116049 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9116049 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9115965 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9115965 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9082641 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9082641 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8989514 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8989514 It's true that we don't catch everything; we don't see everything. If you or anyone would like to help, we'd be grateful. Gently reminding users not to break the guidelines is one way. Emailing us (hn@ycombinator.com) when you see them being broken is another.
burnte 12y ago
> Accusing someone of deliberately faking their comments in order to co-opt discussion for an external interest is so far beyond the pale of civility that I'm not sure what else to tell you. I truly and honestly believe you're seeing a level of animosity that genuinely is not there. I believe you may be reacting on a more reflexive level to a type of comment more than my actual comment, which is understandable to a degree. Yes, the first sentence said "you've more than earned your pay" but that sentence does not exist in a vacuum. It is immediately followed with a joke that to the vast majority of people would demonstrate a lighthearted mood in the comment, and I believe also would communicate to most people that my comment is a farcical statement. Yes, text is devoid of many contextual clues, but one context clue it is not missing is the entirely of the message. I understand your interpretation, and we can agree to disagree on that aspect, but I would urge you to reconsider the position that my comment was "so far beyond the pale of civility". I made a joke about the tone of his comment, I did not accuse his family of contributing to genocide.
- dang 12y ago
  Oh, I'm definitely responding to the category of comment, and I totally believe you that you meant yours as a joke. But you're way, way overestimating how apparent that joke was.