[dang]

Because it's baity. We have enough trouble keeping people from going on generic ideological tangents as it is.

The policy is "Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait." (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html).

[julienreszka]

This is exactly what Orwell is talking about in his books. Why are you trying to control our thoughts dang, go find a real job

[dang]

Yes, but Orwell wrote about it intelligently. If he had let a million internet users comment in his books, they wouldn't be worth reading either.

[angry_octet]

# It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

I can imagine the twitter clock-splaining... "It's 13-hundred dontcha kno.", "I hate it when daylight savings ends" etc.

[julienreszka]

This really isn't the point. I'm not talking about comments but how you manipulate the perception of the public discussion.

By the way your assumption about free comments is really arrogant I guess power corrupts but it could be that you've always believed that.

Anyway 1984 will enter the public domain in 2020, we could actually try and see this then; and I bet the average comment will be more thoughtful than your average comment that seriously doesn't bring to the discussion anything but hate and frustration.

[amaccuish]

No he was talking about totalitarianism.

[inflatableDodo]

Wow. Meta-Orwellianism.

edit - I think I'm done here, bye Dang. You do a hard job, but this is utterly ridiculous. In the ongoing attempt to edit out anything contentious, this place has completely jumped the shark.