I get why folks saying "if you don't like it don't read it" feels jerky, but "if you don't like it, don't participate in it" seems pretty reasonable, I'd think.
That's fair, but it's also fair for me to have priorities, and to participate in something I think should change.
I think the non-political threads are where HN shines, and I believe in playing to your strengths. This is a wonderful place where subject-matter experts come crawling out to give you wonderful, deep knowledge about some esoteric discussion on the regular.
We don't get political experts here as often, and the average political commentary on this site probably rivals...well, the rest of the internet.
But while we're rooting around in the mud, I might join in. And I'm okay with occasional politics, I just wish it didn't get enough upvotes to make random political stories the front-page news here. In the past, much bigger stories either didn't make the front page, or were moderated--I'm not sure which.
Anyway, I'm not really complaining here about the moderation, either. I think they do a great job. I can live with the amount of politics we have here, I just hope it doesn't increase.
I still would rather not see it here. I get my fill of politics elsewhere.