dredmorbius 3 days ago

I'm among those who often despairs that HN cannot address trenchant political issues, or aspects of stories. I really wish it could do better.

That said, if you do want to discuss those issues, the best way is to do so with an extreme awareness of HN's comment guidelines and provide a highly constructive example for others to follow. Complaining about others generally doesn't have that effect. Responding to complaints of others, even constructively, is at best marginally effective as well, of course.

I'll be the first to admit that the politics of the Middle East is exceedingly complex, most hats are at best grey, and I find myself often critical, occasionally impressed and supportive of, various parties.

One factor which might help is distinguishing direct beligerants and forces (regular or irregular) and political factions on the one hand from the civilian populations at large on the other (both sides face a high degree of risk, whether as collateral damage or as direct targets).

I'd also strongly urge all to downvote and flag clear agitation and of course nationalistic flamewars, as dang so very often admonishes: <https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...>.

Reply View 1 reply
  • dredmorbius 3 days ago

    Also if I can make a late addition: vouch for comments which you believe may have been unfairly flagged or killed. That also happens on Highly Contentious Discussions.

    AFAIU mods see flags and vouches and will occasionally step in. Their bandwidth is limited however.

    (I've emailed dang over this moderation issue, and in the case of this specific story. The mods do what they can.)

    Reply View 0 replies
DrSiemer 3 days ago

Yes, we would have referred them to the proper channels to discuss the morals and ethics of it all. Those subjects inevitably lead to bitter arguments. Keeping politics out is the only way to keep this platform sane.

Reply View 3 replies
  • tdeck 3 days ago

    When I think of sane people, I don't think of people who ignore the moral and ethical implications of thousands of deaths.

    Reply View 1 reply
    • throw10920 3 days ago

      Nobody is ignoring anything - this is just the wrong place for discussion. The HN guidelines (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) clearly state that politics and flamewars are off-topic, and that HN is for intellectual curiosity. Moral outrage and ideological warfare are categorically inappropriate for HN.

      As the poster correctly points out, "Keeping politics out is the only way to keep this platform sane." - these guidelines are why HN hasn't degenerated into Reddit.

      If you can't respect the guidelines, you shouldn't comment.

      Reply View 0 replies
  • arp242 3 days ago

    Just deal with the people who completely lose their shit on topics such as these.

    Injecting copious amounts of vitriol is exactly how you can make people shut up about the entire thing.

    Reply View 0 replies