You mustn't mistake my comments about indignation for some sort of endorsement of the status quo or siding with the other side. That's not it at all. When I post like I did there, I do so strictly in a narrow sense: as moderator of a site that exists for intellectual curiosity. See here: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.
Indignation is a driving force in social progress. But it's the arch-enemy of intellectual curiosity. The longer I do this job, the clearer it becomes that HN is in a Manichean universe. You can have intellectual curiosity or indignation. You cannot have both at the same time. That's basically it.
If I take my moderator hemlet off, do I feel the same indignation you feel? You bet I do. But the job is not to moderate HN that way. The job is to preserve it for intellectual curiosity. That's a clear distinction. You'd be surprised how clear it is, if you spent your days looking at it from every conceivable angle.
One thing I wonder sometimes why nobody asks me, so I'll ask it here: why is this ok? Aren't the union busting, medical debt, and opioid epidemic issues—and so many more, climate change, income inequality—utterly more important than the triviality of the rest of HN? Maze-building algorithms, 1983 keyboard vs. mouse tests, and the joy of Cliff Stoll—to mention things that have gotten attention here in the last day?
The answer is yes, they are utterly more important. But would the world be better if those waves swept HN away? I don't think so. I think the world, or at least the internet, is better off with at least one forum that's focused on intellectual curiosity. And if we're going to focus on it, we'd better focus on it deliberately, because otherwise those stronger forces will sweep HN away.
This is great stuff, dang. May I suggest you post this in a blog or something? I think HN readers would benefit from reading about some of the philosophical grounds and intent upon which HN is built.
Catching up on my open HN tabs, so a few days late. Very fascinating. The choices that are made. I second the suggestion from TimTheTinker about an essay/blog on/about the philosophical foundation and choices made of/for the HN community by dang and sctb, expanding on the grandparent comment.
Indignation is a driving force in social progress. But it's the arch-enemy of intellectual curiosity. The longer I do this job, the clearer it becomes that HN is in a Manichean universe. You can have intellectual curiosity or indignation. You cannot have both at the same time. That's basically it.
If I take my moderator hemlet off, do I feel the same indignation you feel? You bet I do. But the job is not to moderate HN that way. The job is to preserve it for intellectual curiosity. That's a clear distinction. You'd be surprised how clear it is, if you spent your days looking at it from every conceivable angle.
One thing I wonder sometimes why nobody asks me, so I'll ask it here: why is this ok? Aren't the union busting, medical debt, and opioid epidemic issues—and so many more, climate change, income inequality—utterly more important than the triviality of the rest of HN? Maze-building algorithms, 1983 keyboard vs. mouse tests, and the joy of Cliff Stoll—to mention things that have gotten attention here in the last day?
The answer is yes, they are utterly more important. But would the world be better if those waves swept HN away? I don't think so. I think the world, or at least the internet, is better off with at least one forum that's focused on intellectual curiosity. And if we're going to focus on it, we'd better focus on it deliberately, because otherwise those stronger forces will sweep HN away.