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Unlike other stories critical of Sam Altman, it's very suspicious the way this is so quickly and systematically downvoted and flagged every single time it's pos

by 4oo4 2y ago

Unlike other stories critical of Sam Altman, it's very suspicious the way this is so quickly and systematically downvoted and flagged every single time it's posted. This happened the last time this was posted too. Sam Altman deserves the right to defend himself in court as does Ann to tell her story (who personally I believe). https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37785072 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37785072 The good news is that with the lawsuit it will be in the news more and much harder to silence, maybe at some point we can have a proper discussion about it on HN without people (or more likely bots) trying to memoryhole it every single time.

leotravis10 2y ago
Amen, hopefully someday we can get a proper civil discussion on this. Shame on the HN mods and higher ups really for trying to censor this.
- krapp 2y ago
  I wouldn't even blame it on the mods and higher ups. There are enough people here invested in Sam Altman either through YC or AI that mutually aligned interests alone will cause a story like this to get squashed, every time. No conspiracy needed. And that doesn't even take into account the number of people who consider all discussions of this kind to be categorically off topic, and would flag it on principle regardless of the context.
  - 4oo4 2y ago
    If you do a search for the word rape, there are tons of discussions about it, so it's definitely not categorically off topic. I'm going to email hn@ycombinator.com per the FAQ since the way this keeps happening feels abusive and against the spirit of HN.
    - krapp 2y ago
      As far as I know, flags come from the community, not the mods. Hacker News is designed so that it doesn't even take many flags to affect a thread. You can complain to the mods all you like but there's nothing you can do about the zeitgeist. The mods also won't change their own policies.
      - dang 2y ago
        Flags mostly come from the community; sometimes from the mods. When the post is a submission (as opposed to a comment), they almost always come from the community.
- dang 2y ago
  The mods haven't done anything. This story is being flagged by users and, after looking at the data, I believe it's a genuine community response. (Edit: here's comment I just ran across, which expresses some of this response: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42638174 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42638174). More here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42637131 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42637131 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42637022 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42637022 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42632335 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42632335
  - spockswrench 2y ago
    You have a vested interest to protect Sam Altman and sure enough this story is not allowed on the front page. This site has many forms of censorship built in, yet you always act with plausible deniability, blaming "the users" or worse yet "the algorithm" (as if that's not fully in your control). I hope you know that most people aren't buying it.
    - dang 2y ago
      Not blaming, just explaining what is happening. You're of course free to believe what you wish, but I think you're wrong about "most people". The bulk of the community is satisfied with what we're doing. How do I know that? Because if it weren't the case, we'd never hear the end of it. I've been on the wrong side of the community in the past, I know what that's like, and this isn't it. Being on the wrong side of the community is such a painful experience that striving to avoid that is basically the principle that drives how we operate HN. As for Sam: this site has hosted countless negativity fests about Sam (as well as other celebrities people love to post about). This story is different, and the way we're handling it would be the same if you replaced his name with anyone else's.
      - spockswrench 2y ago
        No, that's clearly wrong. These posts all have tons of upvotes (without even being allowed to stay on the front page!), the community wants them. Edit: You can downvote my comments and censor my account all you want. I learned today that to engage with this site one must take an oppositional stance. I'll just make a new account since this one is clearly compromised. I encourage everyone to do the same. Hell make 10 every time you see you're censored.

by 4oo4 2y ago

leotravis10 2y ago

Amen, hopefully someday we can get a proper civil discussion on this. Shame on the HN mods and higher ups really for trying to censor this.

krapp 2y ago
I wouldn't even blame it on the mods and higher ups. There are enough people here invested in Sam Altman either through YC or AI that mutually aligned interests alone will cause a story like this to get squashed, every time. No conspiracy needed. And that doesn't even take into account the number of people who consider all discussions of this kind to be categorically off topic, and would flag it on principle regardless of the context.
- 4oo4 2y ago
  If you do a search for the word rape, there are tons of discussions about it, so it's definitely not categorically off topic. I'm going to email hn@ycombinator.com per the FAQ since the way this keeps happening feels abusive and against the spirit of HN.
  - krapp 2y ago
    As far as I know, flags come from the community, not the mods. Hacker News is designed so that it doesn't even take many flags to affect a thread. You can complain to the mods all you like but there's nothing you can do about the zeitgeist. The mods also won't change their own policies.
    - dang 2y ago
      Flags mostly come from the community; sometimes from the mods. When the post is a submission (as opposed to a comment), they almost always come from the community.
dang 2y ago
The mods haven't done anything. This story is being flagged by users and, after looking at the data, I believe it's a genuine community response. (Edit: here's comment I just ran across, which expresses some of this response: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42638174 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42638174). More here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42637131 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42637131 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42637022 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42637022 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42632335 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42632335
- spockswrench 2y ago
  You have a vested interest to protect Sam Altman and sure enough this story is not allowed on the front page. This site has many forms of censorship built in, yet you always act with plausible deniability, blaming "the users" or worse yet "the algorithm" (as if that's not fully in your control). I hope you know that most people aren't buying it.
  - dang 2y ago
    Not blaming, just explaining what is happening. You're of course free to believe what you wish, but I think you're wrong about "most people". The bulk of the community is satisfied with what we're doing. How do I know that? Because if it weren't the case, we'd never hear the end of it. I've been on the wrong side of the community in the past, I know what that's like, and this isn't it. Being on the wrong side of the community is such a painful experience that striving to avoid that is basically the principle that drives how we operate HN. As for Sam: this site has hosted countless negativity fests about Sam (as well as other celebrities people love to post about). This story is different, and the way we're handling it would be the same if you replaced his name with anyone else's.
    - spockswrench 2y ago
      No, that's clearly wrong. These posts all have tons of upvotes (without even being allowed to stay on the front page!), the community wants them. Edit: You can downvote my comments and censor my account all you want. I learned today that to engage with this site one must take an oppositional stance. I'll just make a new account since this one is clearly compromised. I encourage everyone to do the same. Hell make 10 every time you see you're censored.