The idea looks interesting, but looking at the frontpage there seem to be very few threads with any comments on them.
Maybe I'm missing something about the format. Do you feel that there's a sense of community and discussion? Or is it mostly a feed of interesting things?
TBH I mostly just lurk there and use it as a feed of interesting things when my need for procrastination exceeds what even HN has to offer. It's surfaced some nice stories though, that I didn't see on HN.
From what limited view I've had into the community, the quality of the discussion seems similar to HN. With a lot less volume, of course.
I'll add my thanks here. I suppose thank you type posts aren't always the most productive, but I am adding it because it also serves as confirmation that my I invite was received and, of course, that I am grateful.
Being invitation only, presumably, makes it much harder for someone who has been banned to quickly set up a new account and continue the nefarious behaviour.
Shadow banning mitigates that somewhat as it can take a little while for the person to realise they're banned.
I've noticed that posts tend to be more technical on Lobsters than on HN. For example you'll rarely find posts about gravitational waves or medicine Nobel Prize (to take some examples in the current HN top posts), it's more about programming, software, technical stuff.
Quality is good in general both in terms of posts and comments, so it's a good complement to HN.
I'm pretty easy going, so I haven't experienced it, but shadowbanning seems like a nefarious thing. I'd much rather, I think, know that I have been banned and why I have been banned.
That is actually speculation. I've never actually been banned from any online community.
I also haven't been banned yet but I feel I sometimes annoy dang a lot even when I try to be as polite as possible without letting go of the facts so I won't be surprised if/when it happens.
I sorta told a mod off, not dang but one of the guys at night usually, before I knew he was a moderator. What I respect is that he never even mentioned his moderator status. I figured it out when I saw him threaten to ban someone at a later date and remembered the username.
So, I have grown to respect the moderation here. It is generally a light touch and I've seen them give multiple earnings. They seem to be pretty even headed and aren't power hungry or overly controlling.
I realize this strays a bit far from the topic at hand, but it seems related enough to share. It's also a good time to point out that they were right, I was wrong, and I am sorry for grumping at them.
If what I've observed, the HN mods are pretty good at leaving a comment when someone's been banned. Sounds like there are two perhaps different understandings of shadowbanning: banning without letting someone know, and allowing a user to continue to post with their comments being dead by default. If someone hasn't read their responses (which can happen) one might not be aware they are banned. Am I understanding you correctly in that you're referring to the first (no notice) vs the second (dead comments)?
Shadowbanning is, to me, banning that results in the user still believing they aren't banned and that their posts appear, to them, to be posted normally. Shadow banning means the user doesn't even know they were banned and still sees their posts being posted as if there has been no change.
They may only notice the difference after they have logged out and then checked to see if their post has actually been posted like normal. It seems insidious, perhaps nefarious was too strong a word. I can see where some people might have earned such a ban, however.
40 comments
[ 4.0 ms ] story [ 69.2 ms ] threadEdit: Invites sent for any requests up to 14:50 UTC. I'll check the thread later on for updates.
Email is morenzg@gmail.com
Many thanks!
chbarts@gmail.com
Thank you.
Thank you!
Maybe I'm missing something about the format. Do you feel that there's a sense of community and discussion? Or is it mostly a feed of interesting things?
From what limited view I've had into the community, the quality of the discussion seems similar to HN. With a lot less volume, of course.
uncle_slacky@yahoo.com
Thanks!
Lobste.rs makes different choices around moderation (including user moderation) and is a lot more transparent than HN.
Lobste.rs is a good community, and I'm glad it's sill going to be around.
Things have changed a bit on HN though. If a mod chooses to ban someone they almost always leave a message. (I think, I'm not a mod.)
Shadow banning mitigates that somewhat as it can take a little while for the person to realise they're banned.
Quality is good in general both in terms of posts and comments, so it's a good complement to HN.
I'm still happy that other sites exist.
That is actually speculation. I've never actually been banned from any online community.
I think todays practice is a whole lot better.
I also haven't been banned yet but I feel I sometimes annoy dang a lot even when I try to be as polite as possible without letting go of the facts so I won't be surprised if/when it happens.
So, I have grown to respect the moderation here. It is generally a light touch and I've seen them give multiple earnings. They seem to be pretty even headed and aren't power hungry or overly controlling.
I realize this strays a bit far from the topic at hand, but it seems related enough to share. It's also a good time to point out that they were right, I was wrong, and I am sorry for grumping at them.
They may only notice the difference after they have logged out and then checked to see if their post has actually been posted like normal. It seems insidious, perhaps nefarious was too strong a word. I can see where some people might have earned such a ban, however.