[cooldeal]

>I've noticed an uptick of the "poor maligned Microsoft" angle lately. It is a boorish tactic to neuter counterpoints (essentially the yang of the "fanboy!" rallying cry).

There are a bunch of MS haters around, even on HN.

For example, Microsoft watcher and insider Paul Thurrott's site http://winsupersite.com is hellbanned on HN(banned from even appearing on the new page), most probably due to excessive flagging from haters and fanboys of other platforms, while Gruber's posts get top billing.

> I would argue that many Microsoft products get a pass they would not get from any other company.

Really?

[msg]

I've flagged Gruber in the past for posts that were contentless flamebait (in my opinion, of course).

I don't know what the story is with Thurrott. Because of the banning, it sounds like a special case that the mods of HN have ultimately decided on, not just the users. So I'm ok with believing that it's not just a story about factions and groupthink.

[cooldeal]

I think excessive flagging can hellban websites, just like too many downmods can hellban users.

I really don't see anything remotely ban worthy on Winsupersite, do you?