Ask YC: Is it time to shut down this site?

3 points by mellow ↗ HN
You know, it is amazing how fast we change.

Only 7 years ago I was reading about about the Singularity and thinking 'Yeah, maybe in twenty-fifty - things don't change that quickly!' Now, I'm not so sure. I have posted some questions/comments to this site in the last few days which were intentionally naive - and would have be recognised as such by the smarter individuals here. Would have been recognised as such, by most, 2 years ago. Today, I was quite shocked at some of the replies and horrified that one of my Submissions was censored! Things do change more quickly than you can ever imagine!

Ok, today might be a bad day for the censor and the posters, but come on guys... I ask about aliens and the next President of the USA and I get crappy comments that don't even address the original question? Are you a cult or are you shipping cargo? I plan to do the latter.

17 comments

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(comment deleted)
isn't the first rule of HN: "No Drama" ?

you'd certainly get a better response about aliens if you posted it on a niche site dedicated to discussing that topic.

i don't go to KFC and order whoppers

The first rule for smart people is intellectual honesty. The medium is not relevant.

What the feck has KFC got to do with it?

How'd you not understand that reference? It's Hacker News. Meaning hacker-related news. Meaning don't bring other nonsense to this site. Why are you surprised that people only want to talk about hacker-related news?
Hacker means many things. If someone submitted a story or tadpoles I would read it, because the intent may be the 'hack'.
If you find yourself clashing with the majority on topics and tone, then your best bet would be to find or make a different community, one more palatable to your tastes.

People don't always agree with me either, but I like that because it encourages me to write better and think more analytically. Possibly the least popular thing to do is complain.

Really? So you have blinkers on when it comes to new ideas? Like, tell Edison to go somewhere else - somewhere they go to bed early and get up early 'cos that is what the sun does?

Actually, I like the 'tone' aspect of your argument. Can I steal it?

What...?
What 'What...?'?
'What' the hell are you talking about?
Don't automatically laugh at or dismiss ideas you think are stupid. That's what stupid people do.
Is it time for you to stop trolling?
Fuck no. You're overreacting. Cut the drama and go find a forum to hang out on.
Hi. I don't think you were actually censored. I can see all of your killed submissions, and so can anyone else that's interested. It's an option in the preferences.

Basically, news.yc is not a random social news site where anything goes. There is a well-defined area that the users of the site are interested in. Your submissions weren't about that, so there aren't people around that are interested in adding good comments.

Anyway, I've read four or five articles today, and three of them have been you bitching about the site. This is somewhat annoying, and I think everyone would appreciate it if you lurked for a while before submitting anything else. Nobody hates you or wants you to go away -- they just want to keep the site useful, unlike Reddit and Digg. Please try to understand.

Thanks jrockway! I now plan to enter Lurk mode!