[SoftwareMaven]

Vapid speculation based on TV plots doesn't really help the level of discourse at HN. Given the list of hacks and the outrageous hacking laws in the US, the default penalty could easily be life in prison. I wouldn't think the Feds would need to push much harder than that.

[kiloaper]

It's not exactly vapid speculation. It's what's been reported by Fox news. I'm not sure how trustworthy their source is but here is the quote:

>“It was because of his kids,” one of the two agents recalled. “He’d do anything for his kids. He didn’t want to go away to prison and leave them. That’s how we got him.”

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/03/06/exclusive-unmaskin...

[mellifluousmind]

Vapid or not, everyone is entitled to their opinions. If you can't accept that, you are not welcome on HN discussion either. End of story.

Simply stated, if HN is heading towards Reddit-like behavior where comments must gear towards "singular" minded thinking, that's the also the day I stop visiting this site.

[kiloaper]

I think it's a bit naive to think that's what's been dubbed 'hivemind' behavior is absent on HN. I think it appears on every site, differing just by degrees. The threads on the recent GitHub hack were quite telling.