Dang, you've been doing some great work, and I really appreciate it, but won't you just let us talk about what we want to talk about without berating us about it all the time? You've been making some pretty heavy-handed imperatives lately, and while I haven't seen any evidence of you using your powers of moderation to act on those comments, the fact that you're a known moderator, and by all appearances the most active one, does make me a bit uncomfortable. Add to that the extreme difficulty of determining when the mods are using their powers, due to the backend secrecy of HN, and it seems like a very dangerous tack to be taking with regards to the site.
This article has started to drop suspiciously quickly - whether that's users flagging it or you or another mod messing with the votes I don't know. But it's worrying.
In this case, the webpage itself was pretty boring, but it led to a discussion about a very interesting piece of technology and UI idea, one which I and, judging by its high-front-page status, a number of other HN readers, enjoyed very much. I'd hate for discussions like this to be stifled by overmoderation.
I'm dismayed that even one user would feel like I'm berating them all the time.
The question here isn't what you can talk about. Two discussions on this are currently open; you're welcome to keep them going. It's whether the story and/or discussions are substantive enough to belong on HN's front page. I'm not seeing the substance here. The story is an announcement of an announcement, and the top comment on the main thread just now is https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7848774, which is the opposite of what HN calls for. This makes sense, given that there's no actual substance to discuss.
That's my call on that story, anyway. Of course, we don't get every call right. Moderation is guesswork, and we rely on the community to point out our mistakes.
Your point about HN moderation seeming heavy-handed is really a side effect of greater transparency. Because what we do has gotten more visible, it seems like it's new. But it isn't new—it's the way things have always worked. Hacker News from day one has been a blend of community upvotes and active curation. Sadly, one consequence of greater transparency is that some people feel like we've suddenly become heavy-handed and manipulative. It isn't true, but I understand why it might seem that way.
Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for the well-thought-out response. The moderation has always made me a bit uncomfortable, but its results are pretty plain to see, so I guess I'll shut up and put up. You're probably right that my uneasiness is due to increased transparency, which is actually a very positive development, IMO.
Thanks again for the work you do. Sorry for the somewhat knee-jerk reaction.
This article has started to drop suspiciously quickly - whether that's users flagging it or you or another mod messing with the votes I don't know. But it's worrying.
In this case, the webpage itself was pretty boring, but it led to a discussion about a very interesting piece of technology and UI idea, one which I and, judging by its high-front-page status, a number of other HN readers, enjoyed very much. I'd hate for discussions like this to be stifled by overmoderation.