Comment by FirmwareBurner a day ago
The comment I replied also breached the same rules: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43805821
Why wasn't it flagged? Thanks for confirming the bias and double standard selective enforcement on HN.
Be snarky against liberal views? Flagged for braking rules. Be snarky against unpopular views? Allowed and often upvoted.
I think people here lack reading skills.
The term mentally deranged I used was at those committing acts of vandalism and terrorism against innocent people's private property, not against someone in the comments here. This is clear to anyone who can read at 8th grade level.
Am I wrong that such vandals are not mentally 100? Am I breaking HN rules with this assessment?
Yes, language like this is against the guidelines, whether or not it’s about people in this community. Also, in this comment you've broken at least one more guideline, and I can see other comments in your recent history that also break the guidelines, notably these:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43476769
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43475596
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43447800
These are just a sample from the past few weeks but there are plenty more that cross the line and have been correctly flagged by the community for breaking the guidelines.
Some particular guidelines for you to pay attention to are:
Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine. Edit out swipes.
Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive.
Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community.
Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity.
But all the guidelines are important to follow and they apply equally to everyone, no matter their ideological position.
We need you take care to follow them in future if you want to keep commenting on Hacker News.
I saw yours first because it was recent, and your earlier comment was the first that started using terms like "crazy" and "mentally deranged". Sure, it's not ok for others to break the guidelines in replies, and I've now responded to the one you pointed out and others. We're not always going to have the time and patience go through a tyrefire of a subthread and scold every single person. Those who start or escalate flamewars need to take more responsibility.
As for bias: I've spent much of the past week and several hours today responding to allegations of bias in the opposite direction. I say to you what I've said to the others: we're not interested in ideology; we're interested in keeping HN a good place for curious conversations.