[clpwn]

From experience, it seems that "don't make this political" can typically be translated to "I don't want opposition". It's much more likely someone hasn't reflected deeply on the political nature of their opinions than it is that a topic is "apolitical".

[appreciatorBus]

I think this is reaching. Plenty of humans are passionate about <x> and completely uninterested in how <x> applies to some current political concern.

Is the problem that some people are like that, or is the problem that they refuse to go along when you tell them that they have to be interested in it?

[roxolotl]

It’s hard to align the two groups. As someone who used to prefer apolitical discussion I now find it very hollow to talk about <x> without including the societal implications of <x>. Like it’s possible to be interested in nuclear physics without ever considering how nuclear physics impacts politics but it just doesn’t feel complete. As Dr Ian Malcom so eloquently stated: “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”

[xigoi]

You have intentionally chosen aa area of interest that is easy to be politicized. Is it possible to be interested in vector graphics without ever considering how vector graphics impact politics?

[AlotOfReading]

Surely you're interested in vector graphics for a reason? Maybe you think it's superior to raster graphics because X, Y, and Z. Yet you look around and see that society overwhelmingly prefers raster. So you write neat programs that clearly demonstrate how superior vector graphics are. You help others with their problems by reaching into your toolkit of vector graphics knowledge and show them the light. You submit upstream patches to improve vector support. Etc.

What's the fundamental difference between this something more obviously political like advocating for privacy by building platforms to track bills, or submit letters to elected officials? Seems to me that the main difference is whether others are likely to be offended by your views and/or actions.

In other words, politics is fine, just don't be a dick. This is the rule many tech spaces enforce, HN included. It's challenging to scale this to large communities because the scope of what might be offensive expands, but that's a very different discussion.

[archagon]

Vector graphics, sure. I don't think it's possible to be interested in AI (i.e. half the front page) without considering its impact on politics.

[xigoi]

Well, then how about a tech discussion forum without politics and without AI?

[archagon]

I think that’s basically lobste.rs. (AI is tagged and you can filter it out.)

[appreciatorBus]

And there's nothing wrong with that. The question is whether or not it's ok for people like your current self to try to force people like your former self to have the same interests as your current self.

If you could magically make HN "apolitical" it's not that tech political discussion would vanish, it's just that different people with different interests would end up in different spaces. And as you have experienced, many people will move between those spaces at different points in their lives.

I am very interested in tech & politics and I am not interested in trying to prevent either. All I ask for is one site where I can go to nerd out without having to wade my way through 400 treatises about why Marx was actually right when I just want to learn more about hierarchical caching or whatever.

I think it's very telling that the issue at hand isn't a bunch of nerds brigading /r/marxWasRight demanding that political nerds include tech considerations in every post.

[protocolture]

>And there's nothing wrong with that. The question is whether or not it's ok for people like your current self to try to force people like your former self to have the same interests as your current self.

I hate the political discussion around AI. I think there's a lot of wrongheadedness on every side. But I am not stupid enough to imagine that its because AI is apolitical.

>force people like your former self to have the same interests as your current self.

Theres no force lmao. You can just skip certain comments.

>I am very interested in tech & politics

Ah but you are interested.

>All I ask for is one site where I can go to nerd out without having to wade my way through 400 treatises about why Marx was actually right

Yeah sorry, doesnt wash. Seems like you want to use force to push this community in a direction you approve of. IE, you are engaging in politics. Stop shitting up the website with your politics. Please leave it exactly where it is right now, which is apolitical.