[avocado4]

Thanks for the reply. I'm all for cracking down on abuse, especially when it's state-sponsored. And I understand moderator has more context than users.

I just wanted to point out how from an outsider perspective it looks like a bias, especially given that HN always seems to have an overwhelming amount of anti-Google content compared to other media sources (not that Google shouldn't be scrutinized - it should be).

[dang]

> HN always seems to have an overwhelming amount of anti-Google content

It always feels that way, but nearly always when people say this, it indicates how they feel on a topic (e.g. that in this case you feel pro-Google). People with the opposite feeling are guaranteed to have the opposite perception. In both cases it's a function of (a) the HN dataset is large and has a wide distribution, therefore (b) a lot of content appears here that strikes your feelings negatively, but (c) we remember those instances much more strongly, so (d) they accrue into an overall impression of the site.

I say 'you' but I don't mean you personally. We're all like this. Unfortunately it leads to a community in which people on all sides of every charged issue end up feeling like the community is hostile to them. I don't really know what to do about that other than post about it a lot.

Edit: the same bias affects how people feel about the mods, again in proportion to how intensely they feel about a topic.

Edit 2: I've taken to calling this the notice-dislike bias, mainly because I can't think of a better name for it. There are many other explanations at https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que.... Also related is the Hostile Media Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_media_effect.

[inapis]

Oh dang. Kudos. That is such a concise and well explained summary of the polarization in internet communities in general. I don’t think that you can do much about it though. Maybe, write a monthly post on your moderation work on HN that might help people see the opposite side.

At the end, people will have to develop the critical thinking skills required to reason about the way things feel to them.

[_slyo]

I imagine you sometimes have reservations about whether to make a moderation decision public, like the one in this thread, but seeing these judgements is always a reminder of how the moderation here is a huge part of what makes this site a special place, regardless of whether I happen to agree with the decision at hand. Thanks for your transparency and good faith.