[random878]

Serious question...

How did this submission make it to the #10 slot, after being posted 38 minutes ago, and with a handful of comments?

This is a very boring update about some product specs. I cannot see how it could be interesting enough on it's on to merit such a rapid response. It's not even remotely interesting on its own (it's essentially a boring advert).

I noticed the same happened with a Purism advert yesterday.

I'm a natural cynic, so perhaps I'm fooling myself into seeing what I want to see, but is this an example of shilling? Does HN have a history of promoting adverts masquerading as content (Reddit style)?

[sctb]

Your reaction is understandable, but there are many topics that HN readers are just personally really into. When those interests don't line up with our own we usually look for some explanation to bridge the gap. But shillage is not that bridge; it's just a quick and easy move to resolve the cognitive dissonance.

> Please don't impute astroturfing or shillage. That degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about it, email us and we'll look at the data.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

[ncmncm]

No. There are just a very large number of us who want Purism to continue their work. Even many of us who don't feel like we can afford their products yet.