3 ms·

I also noticed that this very post here was on the front page a few mins ago and now it's nowhere to be found on the first, second, third or fourth page. This i

I also noticed that this very post here was on the front page a few mins ago and now it's nowhere to be found on the first, second, third or fourth page. This is strange and begs some answers.

thaumaturgy 11y ago
That's what happens when people flag posts, and it's especially common on posts asking why other posts were flagged -- it keeps too much meta discussion from taking over. I didn't flag either of the other two submissions -- mostly because I've got pretty strict personal guidelines for flagging, and also because most such content doesn't have a long shelf-life on HN anyway -- but it would be easy to justify flagging them. @raganwald is a great guy. I'm really grateful for his participation on HN. He's articulate and tends to carefully consider his positions. But, I don't think this particular article from him is going to lead to very valuable discussion. With all due respect to his experiences, it's a somewhat shallow, low-effort article. It doesn't say anything new about the balance between hateful speech and free speech, which really is the conversation that needs to happen. It doesn't acknowledge that Reddit is often the largest online community for any subject, including hateful ones. And, if it inspires any conversation at all, it's likely just going to be a lot of drama between the "anti-hate-speech" crowd and the "anti-censorship" crowd.
- braythwayt 11y ago
  I agree with everything you’re saying. There is a thing that applies to scientific theories, a question of whether they are fecund, do they provoke more insights and thoughts and productive debate? Some things I write might be very true, or very heartfelt, or very emotionally powerful, but not fecund. And fecundity is an important criterion for a site that uses posts as a catalyst for productive discussion.

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I also noticed that this very post here was on the front page a few mins ago and now it's nowhere to be found on the first, second, third or fourth page. This i

by meeper16 11y ago

I also noticed that this very post here was on the front page a few mins ago and now it's nowhere to be found on the first, second, third or fourth page. This is strange and begs some answers.

thaumaturgy 11y ago
That's what happens when people flag posts, and it's especially common on posts asking why other posts were flagged -- it keeps too much meta discussion from taking over. I didn't flag either of the other two submissions -- mostly because I've got pretty strict personal guidelines for flagging, and also because most such content doesn't have a long shelf-life on HN anyway -- but it would be easy to justify flagging them. @raganwald is a great guy. I'm really grateful for his participation on HN. He's articulate and tends to carefully consider his positions. But, I don't think this particular article from him is going to lead to very valuable discussion. With all due respect to his experiences, it's a somewhat shallow, low-effort article. It doesn't say anything new about the balance between hateful speech and free speech, which really is the conversation that needs to happen. It doesn't acknowledge that Reddit is often the largest online community for any subject, including hateful ones. And, if it inspires any conversation at all, it's likely just going to be a lot of drama between the "anti-hate-speech" crowd and the "anti-censorship" crowd.
- braythwayt 11y ago
  I agree with everything you’re saying. There is a thing that applies to scientific theories, a question of whether they are fecund, do they provoke more insights and thoughts and productive debate? Some things I write might be very true, or very heartfelt, or very emotionally powerful, but not fecund. And fecundity is an important criterion for a site that uses posts as a catalyst for productive discussion.