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I have sent an email linking to this discussion, but I think it would be more constructive if the helpful and forthcoming answers happened in public rather than

I have sent an email linking to this discussion, but I think it would be more constructive if the helpful and forthcoming answers happened in public rather than in sent in private email threads to everyone wondering. Calling discussing something on HN "hypothesizing into the void" is a strange choice of words, either meant to be patronizing toward me specifically or toward all HN users.

dang 8mo ago
> I think it would be more constructive if the helpful and forthcoming answers happened in public You're in luck, because there are thousands of public answers and you can search them easily: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=by:dang&type=comment&dateRange=all&sort=byDate&prefix=false https://hn.algolia.com/?query=by:dang&type=comment&dateRange... (by dang), https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Atomhow&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... (by tomhow). The answers we give by email are no different from the ones we give in public. Whether they are helpful or forthcoming you'll have to decide. They are repetitive (and are even more tedious to write than they are to read) but here are some places to start: stories with political overlap - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=political%20overlap%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so... not a current affairs site - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20current%20affairs%20site&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... consistency in moderation is impossible - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20moderation%20consistency&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... flags and turning off flags - https://hn.algolia.com/?query=flags%20off%20turn%20by%3Adang&dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?query=flags%20off%20turn%20by%3Adang... repetitiveness makes a story and a discussion less interesting in HN's sense - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42787306 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42787306 - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=curiosity%20repetition%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so... If you take a look at some of those answers and still have a question that isn't answered there, I'd be happy to take a crack at it. But it would be good to familiarize yourself with the standard explanations, because they're nearly always adequate to explain what you're seeing, although they will probably leave you frustrated if you feel strongly about the politics of a story. FWIW, here's a short version: users flag things for various reasons; we turn off flags on a few such stories, but not more; that's because HN isn't a political or current affairs site; which stories get flags turned off is never going to satisfy anyone's political priorities, because the community is in deep disagreement with itself and because moderation consistency is impossible. People dislike it when a story whose politics they agree with doesn't get to stay on the frontpage, but since it's impossible for all such stories to be on HN's frontpage, this frustration is unavoidable.
- testing22321 8mo ago
  [flagged]
  - dang 8mo ago
    I feel fairly confident that the bulk of this community would not want us to operate HN based on feelings like this, regardless of how right you are, or feel you are, on the issues.
    - testing22321 8mo ago
      Thanks for the reply Dan. That’s not the question I asked.
      - dang 8mo ago
        It was obviously not a real question.
        testing22321 8mo ago
        I’m a bit taken back you would say that. In much of what I’ve read about the fall of rule of law and dictators rising to power in other countries, people very often talk about one of two things - how they wish they had done more to stop it, or how they’re proud of what they did and they feel they made a difference - even if small. Even the parents of Alex Pretti who was killed yesterday said in a statement they’re very proud that Alex was protecting a women at the time he was killed, helping others like he always did. Given what you just said above, I can only think you either don’t really understand how much power you have to enable or curtail discussions or you know exactly and last night when you closed your eyes and thought about it you realized you aren’t / won’t be proud if it gets real bad. I’m sure you’ve read a lot of history Dan. Has there ever been a case where stopping citizens talking about what their government is doing has worked out well for the people? I’m not aware of one. I know these discussions are “off topic” for HN Dan, but I’m shocked you don’t see that literally nothing else will be important for a decade or more if the dictator takes full control or starts a civil or world war. The lives of a vast number of people will change drastically for the worse, and you’ll have to live knowing you stopped people talking about it when there was still something to be done. I hope on the life of my little girl none of this happens, but man you’re going to have a hard time looking in the mirror if it does. I don’t envy you, and I understand you’re between a rock and a hard place. Doing the right thing is often the hardest path. Do you genuinely feel you are doing the right thing?

dang 8mo ago

> I think it would be more constructive if the helpful and forthcoming answers happened in public You're in luck, because there are thousands of public answers and you can search them easily: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=by:dang&type=comment&dateRange=all&sort=byDate&prefix=false https://hn.algolia.com/?query=by:dang&type=comment&dateRange... (by dang), https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=by%3Atomhow&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... (by tomhow). The answers we give by email are no different from the ones we give in public. Whether they are helpful or forthcoming you'll have to decide. They are repetitive (and are even more tedious to write than they are to read) but here are some places to start: stories with political overlap - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=political%20overlap%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so... not a current affairs site - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20current%20affairs%20site&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... consistency in moderation is impossible - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20moderation%20consistency&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que... flags and turning off flags - https://hn.algolia.com/?query=flags%20off%20turn%20by%3Adang&dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?query=flags%20off%20turn%20by%3Adang... repetitiveness makes a story and a discussion less interesting in HN's sense - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42787306 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42787306 - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&sort=byDate&type=comment&query=curiosity%20repetition%20by:dang https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so... If you take a look at some of those answers and still have a question that isn't answered there, I'd be happy to take a crack at it. But it would be good to familiarize yourself with the standard explanations, because they're nearly always adequate to explain what you're seeing, although they will probably leave you frustrated if you feel strongly about the politics of a story. FWIW, here's a short version: users flag things for various reasons; we turn off flags on a few such stories, but not more; that's because HN isn't a political or current affairs site; which stories get flags turned off is never going to satisfy anyone's political priorities, because the community is in deep disagreement with itself and because moderation consistency is impossible. People dislike it when a story whose politics they agree with doesn't get to stay on the frontpage, but since it's impossible for all such stories to be on HN's frontpage, this frustration is unavoidable.

testing22321 8mo ago
[flagged]
- dang 8mo ago
  I feel fairly confident that the bulk of this community would not want us to operate HN based on feelings like this, regardless of how right you are, or feel you are, on the issues.
  - testing22321 8mo ago
    Thanks for the reply Dan. That’s not the question I asked.
    - dang 8mo ago
      It was obviously not a real question.
      - testing22321 8mo ago
        I’m a bit taken back you would say that. In much of what I’ve read about the fall of rule of law and dictators rising to power in other countries, people very often talk about one of two things - how they wish they had done more to stop it, or how they’re proud of what they did and they feel they made a difference - even if small. Even the parents of Alex Pretti who was killed yesterday said in a statement they’re very proud that Alex was protecting a women at the time he was killed, helping others like he always did. Given what you just said above, I can only think you either don’t really understand how much power you have to enable or curtail discussions or you know exactly and last night when you closed your eyes and thought about it you realized you aren’t / won’t be proud if it gets real bad. I’m sure you’ve read a lot of history Dan. Has there ever been a case where stopping citizens talking about what their government is doing has worked out well for the people? I’m not aware of one. I know these discussions are “off topic” for HN Dan, but I’m shocked you don’t see that literally nothing else will be important for a decade or more if the dictator takes full control or starts a civil or world war. The lives of a vast number of people will change drastically for the worse, and you’ll have to live knowing you stopped people talking about it when there was still something to be done. I hope on the life of my little girl none of this happens, but man you’re going to have a hard time looking in the mirror if it does. I don’t envy you, and I understand you’re between a rock and a hard place. Doing the right thing is often the hardest path. Do you genuinely feel you are doing the right thing?