TBH, politics is and should be taken elsewhere because it is much more important than most of what we discuss here and therefore could easily crowd out everything else.
But there's a strong intersection between STEM, policy, and downstream innovation/employment - not to mention any ethical dilemmas along the way.
Not discussing and/or allowing bots to overrun any such discussion and drown out dissent has never in the history of man left to immediately better times in STEM.
I'm not sure what the right answer is: if HN were to change its policy and focus on the authoritarian assault on the US in all its forms, it would easily crowd out everything else, and draw in a bunch of people interested in only politics.
It's sure hard to ignore. IDK, maybe some enterprising person should start a "hackers for democracy" web site where we can share ideas or something.
> draw in a bunch of people interested in only politics.
This is already happening. I'm finding myself visiting the site less and less and enjoying my time here less and less because every single thread is getting hijacked by people who just want to talk politics.
That I largely agree with the general mood is exactly the problem: I don't need HN to work me up into even greater despair, I come here to engage my mind on useful things and talk about complex ideas with interesting people. But the interesting people are increasingly retreating from the nonstop anger cycle that's been feeding this site's engagement this year.
Might I suggest this is a reflection of society as a whole? Politics is everywhere because nowhere is safe from politics, especially science these days.
We can't talk about science anymore because all the people working on it are worried about their jobs and lives instead of... well... doing science.
I appreciate wanting to come on HN and read about all the cool science-related articles without being troubled by politics too much. That stuff is weighty. It's nice to to just chill out and learn about cool things.
But we can't have those nice things anymore. Because faculty meetings are now spent talking about which words researchers have to avoid in our proposals because we don't want to be rejected by the government censors.
We used to talk about the cool things we would do for our students and our research plans. But now we are more worried about if we're even going to have jobs in 12 months. We are worried about our already-allocated funds being pulled.
We aren't talking about science anymore, because we have to talk about how to avoid being the next "transgender mice". We are dodging death threats if we trend on social media. We are losing our jobs. We are being detained at airports and denied entry to the US for holding anti Trump views. We are being deported from the country.
So I think your read on the situation is off; the interesting people are not retreating from nonstop anger cycles, they are under attack and not engaging in their typical behavior you find interesting. Instead of disengaging entirely, they need your support, so they can get back to doing cool things you find interesting.
I work in education. I'm in those meetings you're talking about that are wrestling with these topics. I also live in Trump country in the Midwest and am living here in large part specifically to be an ambassador to help in my own small way to reduce the hatred that's fueling the fires. I'm as in the thick of it as anyone here, but I still come here for a reprieve and as that reprieve disappears in favor of nonstop rage I need to retreat.
HN is dying, and it's not dying to Trump. It's dying to the undirected rage that has infused every subthread, and that is something that's within our control even if Trump and his actions aren't. It's not useful, it's just an emotional drain that serves to further exhaust those who are best positioned to help and further polarize an already dangerously polarized world.
When communities are under attack, there really isn't a break though. Why do you think this rage exists? The fact it's here is not an indictment of HN and this community, it's an indication the rage has gotten out of control, and maybe we have to finally face it instead of seeking reprieve.
Not discussing and/or allowing bots to overrun any such discussion and drown out dissent has never in the history of man left to immediately better times in STEM.