HN, more than most, is a global forum, and with that in mind people should really stop and think before offering their opinion on a subject where critical cultural context is almost surely missing from one's perspective.
I think there's some merit to that point of view, but at least in the narrow context of HN, I don't want to contribute to culture war internet arguments.
These dismissive comments are unhelpful. The nice thing about HN is substantive discussion can happen, whereas I rarely expect it elsewhere. But preemptive comments like yours can prevent this from happening.
In the past, discussions on this topic on HN have historically devolved quickly into flamewars. Anyone choosing to discuss this please reflect on why you want to do so: are you looking to truly understand what others think on this? Are you truly open to having your opinion changed? Are you hoping to convince others of your position? Just let people know the truth of the matter? Shout down those you disagree with? If you're looking for something other than truly productive, respectful, thoughtful, charitable discussion, please refrain from commenting here.
I am very pleased by the way you moderate discussions on HN in general, but I really think you are very wrong on this. It is pretty clear that you are only thinking about the US perspective on things.
Not that I agree withe affront bit, but HN is forum of many people, don't assume hypocrisy where there might just be disagreement. Many comments have taken the contrary positions on both issues.
HN is a highly international community. We're nowhere close to global consensus on such topics.
If you think some other post is way off base, it's best to assume good faith as the guidelines ask and reply patiently with correct information, not name-calling like "anti-western conspiracy theories". If you do the latter, there's a good chance you'll make the situation worse by increasing the distance between us instead of bridging it.
And hence I commented, in kind, with not addressing this at you. There is a wide and diverse audience in HN, and I wanted to point out they need to travel and see the world to better understand their culture and themselves, and the biases through which they evaluate the world.
I am not being critical of you, I just wanted to give a good example of a deeper look at this particular example. I upvoted you and I am glad you gave space to such opinions, as tangential as they are to the article.
I thought the rule of HN was to avoid comments like the above, that are baseless and devoid of content, derived purely from subjetive feelings about other people's opinions.
I would agree with you if this conversation were taking place anywhere other than HN. This community isn't infallible, but I argue that the level of discourse here is far above the mean.
A quick reminder to read the article before commenting. HN usually has a better track record of this, but this is a particular issue people are sensitive about so don't draw your conclusions from the title alone.
I'm avoiding wading into these debates on HN but wanted to thank you for articulating something that has been bugging me as well. This is a point that I wish more people on the internet would stop to consider.
I wholeheartedly agree. But the reddit hypersensitive and hyperbolic mentality is seeping out of reddit - any mention that even suggests that contrary belief is wrong or misguided is met with a strong response that discourages further discussion on the matter. Cancel culture, in short. I’ve been seeing it creep into HN for quite some time, although it’s more civil here.
I apologize but I cannot continue this thread. I've been warned before about ideological discussion on HN so I shall limit myself to expressing my opinion without elaborating.
I respect HN for it's high commentary and why I avoid places like Reddit where possible. I admit, I should have made the comment of higher quality and provided sources, I was attempting to initiate discussion about the topic.
reply