[anthonyb]

> these comments are not representative of the entire community, or of even a single medium-profile user.

The community doesn't have to be 100% racist or sexist for there to be a problem. These are all from the same threads as the original article:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8342366 [7227 karma, 1269 days old]

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8342896 [7401 karma, 2780 days old]

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8338055 [32302 karma, 2432 days old]

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8392928 [5003 karma, 1249 days old]

[BrandonM]

That's definitely a good point. My comment was a kneejerk reaction to assertions like "Hacker News is a cesspool." I agree that we should address anything that makes people feel unwelcome or uncomfortable because of who they are.

[marbletiles]

And yet your original comment didn't say that, it just immediately went #notallmen. If you admit there's a problem, start with that. If you must start a tone fight, do it as an aside.

[BrandonM]

You're totally right (that's why I said "kneejerk"). Thanks for the advice.