Ask HN: Does anyone else feel like staying off HN for a bit? The topics and quality of discussion have really changed over the past week and I'm not that interested in more free speech flame wars or questions like "Would decentralised distributed git-blockchain replace twitter and save us from tyranny if Trump pushed one block to it?" Anyone else feel in a similar way? How are you dealing with this? |
It's also not clear to me that HN has a compelling value-add on the "<so and so> deplatformed <so and so>" or "social media is amplifying <fringe faction>" developments vs the many other outlets covering these current events. While the current events submissions involve technology companies, they're not really stories about technology. We're discussing general-interest stories about media/service company policy that happen to involve revoking software access or broadcasting someone's message. The relevance to HN feels about the same as if e.g., a major TV outlet had been giving equal airtime to offensive parties and has now ceased doing that. HN isn't all-tech, but HN normally focuses on topics the average layman may not appreciate, and recent submissions feel much more general-interest than that spirit.
I've seen a lot of flagged/dead front-page submissions come across my RSS feed in the last week+, suggesting the HN community is pretty polarized on whether or not it wants to see some of this stuff, if something makes it to the front page and then gets killed.
I agree with OP that the quality on HN has decreased recently, both stories and comments. This has been a progression over several years from my perspective.
In general I don't mind reading opinions which are different from mine and I enjoy a window on people in tech and startup on issues that space from technology to politics.
I felt in the past it may be a bit to addictive (I don't do any other social media) and ended up restricting its usage (first fully, then by time, then by device).
It might be worth it until all the politics blow over.
Side note: I've noticed these topics tend to burn out quickly because the post and the posters are getting tons of down votes and, due to the "algorithm" (dang), being slowly pushed away from the top. Speaking of: Moderating is often a thankless job, so thank you.
Unfortunately, I only see things getting worse from here. It seems inevitable when observing other internet communities that gradually devolved into being pervaded by partisanship and identity politics.
Hopefully a new site comes along at which point the cycle will start over...
But I can ignore them when they get posted.
I've come and gone over the past several years, but tend to come back because its still the site that curates the most interesting tech content, but most of my good tech discussions happen on various discord servers now.
I find it easier to read and skip over stories.
- denial: our capitalistic democratic ways work: we're not China!
- resistance: oh no, FAANG control our lives, we must fight back!
- exploration: what if mastodon blockchain webRTC could save us?
- acceptance: something must be done, X is something, therefore it must be done!
We're currently on the third step. I'd love for there to be a rational, coherent solution for the last step, but I don't have much faith that the for-karma collective in HN is going to agree to stop nitpicking, let alone come up with a remotely workable solution.
Expect to see technology startups claiming to solve the problem without understanding its human aspect, big tech growing more powerful on the back of cacophonous social media "engagement", and China's dominance in the world increasing as the rest of the world becomes less and less able to manufacture anything. That's what the fourth stage is going to be, if things keep going the way they have been.
That's not acceptance. That's the politician's syllogism, and it's a logical fallacy. Acceptance is "This is the way it is, and I/we can't change it."
In my case (and others, I've observed), I don't hate China's citizens. Instead I loathe China's leadership. It's corrupt, evil to its own citizens, quick to violently oppress any form of protest, and it's racial slavery.
And I offer equal loathing towards any other leaders who look at China and go "You know what? We should try that here."
China has 600mln people living with under 140$ per month and 1% controlling 70% of the wealth.
It is certainly a cause of concern, it's the closest thing as a Star Wars' Galactic Empire I can think of.