HN's increasing inability to apply critical thinking is frustrating. I think it's due to a combination of groupthink, a tendency to be manipulated by their fears, and a willingness to believe what they want to believe.
I got fooled because I trust the Atlantic Monthly, which has been around for some 150 years, but apparently The Atlantic Wire is something altogether different. This is the second story they've blown recently.
Every time I see a comment "hurr durr hackernews is becoming more reddit every day we reddit the reddit" I see another geniunely pointless noise point injected into the discourse.
Everyone that does this is actually making things worse than they would've been otherwise, is actually creating the bullshit situation they're decrying.
Please, everyone, stop bringing in the stupid reddit comparisons.
I was just highlighting that the reasons presented are the same issues reddit has in common. To ignore the problems is ignorant. But I can see you are pretty bent out of shape about two communities sharing any similarities and the interesting patterns that emerge. Lest we be intelligent about the entire thing, let's just argue about arguing.
I am not "bringing in stupid reddit comparisons," but wow, you are the most offensive person on this thread.
I voted it up not because I believed it, but because I don't give a shit if others disbelieve it.
Anything that can further the growing mass of anger and resentment at the US military's illegal surveillance actions and resultant policy of dishonesty is beneficial to our ends.
I think apathy overrides most of the benefits derived from rational discourse on the broader scale. In a limited forum such as HN, it's great.
When pushing the "the government is violating your rights and must be stopped" on a larger scale, factual precision becomes much less important.
The immediate goal is to generate as much general awareness and outrage as possible. Everything from the metadata vs content debate to service provider denials of data-sharing to Snowden's hot ex-girlfriend are distractions from that objective.
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HN's increasing inability to apply critical thinking is frustrating. I think it's due to a combination of groupthink, a tendency to be manipulated by their fears, and a willingness to believe what they want to believe.
I got fooled because I trust the Atlantic Monthly, which has been around for some 150 years, but apparently The Atlantic Wire is something altogether different. This is the second story they've blown recently.
So basically the same things that make reddit's community what it is today?
Every time I see a comment "hurr durr hackernews is becoming more reddit every day we reddit the reddit" I see another geniunely pointless noise point injected into the discourse.
Everyone that does this is actually making things worse than they would've been otherwise, is actually creating the bullshit situation they're decrying.
Please, everyone, stop bringing in the stupid reddit comparisons.
I was just highlighting that the reasons presented are the same issues reddit has in common. To ignore the problems is ignorant. But I can see you are pretty bent out of shape about two communities sharing any similarities and the interesting patterns that emerge. Lest we be intelligent about the entire thing, let's just argue about arguing.
I am not "bringing in stupid reddit comparisons," but wow, you are the most offensive person on this thread.
I voted it up not because I believed it, but because I don't give a shit if others disbelieve it.
Anything that can further the growing mass of anger and resentment at the US military's illegal surveillance actions and resultant policy of dishonesty is beneficial to our ends.
To me this feels like an anti-intellectual manifestation of "the end justifies the means".
You speak as if rational discourse is useless to your objective (as noble as it may be).
Publicizing sensational agitprop isn't lying.
Publishing it in the first place may well be.
I think apathy overrides most of the benefits derived from rational discourse on the broader scale. In a limited forum such as HN, it's great.
When pushing the "the government is violating your rights and must be stopped" on a larger scale, factual precision becomes much less important.
The immediate goal is to generate as much general awareness and outrage as possible. Everything from the metadata vs content debate to service provider denials of data-sharing to Snowden's hot ex-girlfriend are distractions from that objective.