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by SilverElfin 145 days ago
> All it takes is five more downvotes than upvotes and a comment will lose visibility.

That is true here too. And Twitter is the least transparent, with people regularly reporting that posts critical of musk or trump have reduced reach compared to their other posts.
1 comments
whyenot 145 days ago
Yes, but HN still has a strong culture of considering both sides, excellent moderation, and some measures to help nudge people in the right direction. For example, right now I can only upvote your comment. I am not given an option to downvote it. That's a good thing!
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bityard 144 days ago
> a strong culture of considering both sides

Ah, no, the HN commentorship is quite highly biased toward a particular demographic and set of political beliefs, which is a thing that needs to be acknowledged. "Considering both sides" is not something I've ever seen as common practice in any organic online community I've been a part of, full stop.

HN's redeeming quality over much of the rest of the web is that low-effort hot-takes and aggressive content are actively discouraged by the mods and community. (These are things that other communities devolve towards, because they tend to drive engagement faster and easier than quality.)

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AlexeyBelov 143 days ago
> HN commentorship is quite highly biased toward a particular demographic and set of political beliefs

I don't know whether this is true, but I've seen exactly the same "complaint" from both sides of the USA political spectrum (USA politics are overrepresented for obvious reasons).

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snigsnog 144 days ago
It's because you're new. Powerusers can downvote and even flag comments. A couple flags and the comment is (by default) invisible. Enough flagged comments and your comments are flagged by default. There's a reason this place is called orange reddit
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whyenot 144 days ago
I created this account in November 2009 and am fully aware of what "power users" can and can not do ;)
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AlexeyBelov 143 days ago
Sorry, but 50 day old accounts shouldn't so confidently (yet incorrectly) explain HN to other users. This is not really how it works.
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snigsnog 140 days ago
Thanks for the gold, kind stranger!
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