[hectdev]

no, take a look around. comments are downvoted for not agreeing with the topic, not for lack a validity. You, yourself, are ganging up on commenter and painting people with broad strokes. That is quintessentially a space where dissenting opinions aren't allowed.

[pesus]

My opinions get downvoted all the time. I've seen my own comments fluctuate in real time. Such is the world of online discussion boards.

> You, yourself, are ganging up on commenter and painting people with broad strokes.

No need to complain about "not being allowed to have a dissenting opinion" and then complain about people disagreeing with you. That's not what "ganging up" means. If we're concerned about the HN guidelines, maybe also avoid complaining about downvotes.

[hectdev]

OK but the ones here are of a certain bias to the discussion. It isn't downvote based on merit, it's downvote based on disagreement with where it falls pros/con to the topic. A discussion on the shape of the comment section isn't a complaint on downvotes alone.

You don't need to define my position or my definitions, I said what I said and meant it as such based on a specific comment in this thread you authored.

[civet_java]

I think you'll find that even spaces most open to discussion and dissent will push back on certain topics such genocide, murder, rape, etc. These are things most people would agree are bad.

I'm not saying that AI is like those things but that as society tallies the cost-to-benefit ratio public opinion on AI trends closer and closer to negative; most people are realising that ripping a big old hole in our social fabric isn't quite worth faster emails. I agree the productivity gains are huge but aren't equaly distributed across industries (or even employees even within the same industry).

Of course you're open to your opinion but as with most things whether not people share it will continue to change over time. I personally hope expressing thoughts like you did becomes unacceptable in the short to medium term, no offence.