[danilocampos]

You're acting like I only have six pieces to point to. I have dozens. And this is only the set after I started hash tagging.

https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23hnwatch&src=typd

> I actually think it's good that short-sighted individuals express their bigoted views.

There's a word for this kind of viewpoint.

> It gives others a chance to provide them with some perspective.

While alienating entire groups of underrepresented backgrounds.

Sam Altman says tech needs to fix its exclusionary nature. So he actually agrees with me on this.

I say change begins at home.

[BrandonM]

> There's a word for this kind of viewpoint.

What would that be?

For the record (and I hope this is clear in the context of the rest of that paragraph), I think getting bigoted views out in the open can be better than the alternative. Open views can be criticized and corrected. Subversive hate or discrimination is much harder to address.

"I say change begins at home," is meaningless. If you want change, go downvote (and possibly reply to) *ist comments in order to set them straight. Form a group of others to help you. Don't get on a soapbox and demand for everyone else to make the world the way you want it without being part of the solution. Taking public figures to task for what you perceive to be their shortcomings (as opposed to their wrongdoing) is not a solution.

Before that, though, try to give people the benefit of the doubt before you respond with venom to them. Mischaracterizing people's positions and attacking out-of-context quotes (as I feel you did with me) are not going to change minds or win over anyone.

[danilocampos]

Y Combinator is a 30 billion dollar business. Hacker News is a big part of their operation.

It's not the job of seagulls to organize oil spill cleanup.

[BrandonM]

Let me know when you want to stop speaking in metaphors or empty platitudes or unrepresentative, cherry-picked snippets, and then we can have a discussion. So far, I see no actionable suggestions for how to solve the problem, or even a clear definition of the problem.

[metavida]

> I see no actionable suggestions for how to solve the problem

Here are a few actionable suggestions from OP's article:

    * "[Create] a Code of Conduct for Hacker News." This helps all community members share clear expectations of appropriate & inappropriate behavior.
    * "After providing clear guidance for what kinds of comments are acceptable to its values, YC must fund a means of consistent enforcement when content is posted outside those bounds."
    * "[YC] must publicly accept its complicity in building and maintaining a business asset with these negative externalities."
    * "YC must submit to accountability for improvement."

[dragonwriter]

> "[Create] a Code of Conduct for Hacker News." This helps all community members share clear expectations of appropriate & inappropriate behavior.

Hacker News has a set of guidelines that provide clear expectation of appropriate and inappropriate behavior as it regards submissions, comments, and flagging.

Presumably, the author of this piece isn't just complaining that the "Guidelines" aren't titled "Code of Conduct", and actually prefers different specific expectations than those that are currently specified. But, to make an actual actionable suggestion, concrete changes need to be identified.

> "After providing clear guidance for what kinds of comments are acceptable to its values, YC must fund a means of consistent enforcement when content is posted outside those bounds."

Heavy handed centralized moderation rather than relying primarily on community moderation is an actionable suggestion, but there is no concrete evidence presented that (1) community moderation isn't working, or (2) heavy-handed centralized moderation would work better.

> "[YC] must publicly accept its complicity in building and maintaining a business asset with these negative externalities."

Except for handwaving at vague anecdotes and stating the authors personal opinion, there's no support for the existence of the asserted "negative externalities". But, yes, while it lacks justification for action, this is certainly an actionable suggestion.

> "YC must submit to accountability for improvement."

This is a vague statement, not a specific, actionable suggestion.

[BrandonM]

That's fair. The first two are pretty good suggestions. I wish he hadn't buried them at the end of an article that was very one-sided (e.g., "Hacker News is a cesspit"). I wish he had made a nice summary like the one you provided.

@_danilo: The sad thing is that I actually agree with your goals and the first two suggestions. I disagree with your tactics. I apologize if my viewpoint sounded like, "There is no problem." That was not my intent. I only intended to offer a counterpoint to what I felt was a misrepresentation of the overall character of Hacker News. I definitely agree with you that there are issues.

But in the process of responding to me, you attacked me. I literally feel like a victim at this point. You took the conversation to Twitter, where I don't even have an account, and aired your grievances about me at my employer.

Please consider your actions in the future. You are not helping your cause when you alienate others and make them feel helpless. You could have tried a little bit harder to convince me instead of attacking me (cf. this post).

[danilocampos]

I'm not here to have a "discussion" with someone who's desperate to defend the powerful from facing their own malfeasance. Your remarks and lack of self-awareness show that you're part of the problem. I don't see any benefit to investing meaningful time in reaching you.

I've provided a case and actionable suggestions here, at a length of 745 words. I'm not going to give you 745 more.

http://danilocampos.com/2014/09/y-combinator-and-the-negativ...

I'm not here to convince you. Your education is your job.

But I am thrilled to continue documenting how, say, software engineering leaders at startups contribute to a culture of exclusion and alienation by making it the jobs of marginalized people to "educate" their more privileged counterparts.