[drawingthesun]

I value the community here as I feel I’m getting thoughts and opinions that are not being filtered to suit my desires like Reddit and Twitter can.

For example I’m a long term Cryptocurrency user/investor/advocate and Hacker News is one of the few places I read negative discussions on Cryptocurrency that are well reasoned and anchored in reality.

Most discussion I see on other sites is either negative out of bitterness (and it shows) or positive for no reason other than misplaced hope.

There are other topics too I find insightful and the comments section often valuable even though it’s a topic that makes me feel not so good. For example topics regarding getting old, ageism, what we spend out time on in life.

Often confronting but helpful to see and read, sometimes causing me to change trajectory.

Again I rarely find a similar level of confrontation on websites to my wants and desires outside Hacker News.

I have a healthy group of friends that will confront me with similar levels of unease, never letting me get to comfortable.

Just wish more websites offered a similar experience.

Twitter and Reddit I find are time sinks with little return other than a place to burn time.

[enlyth]

I also find that HackerNews doesn't suffer from groupthink as bad as other platforms. It is common to find Opinion A the top voted comment, and Opinion B which is completely contrary will be the most upvoted child comment, because both present valid points.

It feels more like an adult conversation where people can agree to disagree and carry on with their lives.

The high standard of moderation also helps.

[nine_k]

I very often upvote pairs of well-written comments that challenge each other, even if I disagree with one or both of them.

Beside promoting quality reasoning and references to interesting sources, I have an egotistic motive: bring more attention to the civilized discussion and thus get fresh opinions and references to help me make my own opinion.

[bombcar]

This is one of the reasons that I upvote comments I disagree with. If it’s posited even a bit well, it’s valuable.

[mountainriver]

I also find HN unique in this regard, it’s so refreshing to have a platform where people of differing opinions can actually communicate without being downvoted to oblivion.

The other day I posted a differing opinion from the norm on Reddit and was downvoted out of the room. It was a well thought totally reasonable opinion.

What does it mean for these wildly popular platforms if we are unable to have adult conversations?

[bmn__]

I invite you to read HN with "showdead", you are bound to quickly change your high opinion. The amount of petty flagging and downvotes to suppress diverging opinions is staggering.

[didgetmaster]

The main problem is not that content on other sites is 'being filtered to suit my desires', but rather that content that THEY want you to see is often being shoved down your throat, whether you like it or not. Likewise they censor content that THEY don't want you to see.

There are just too many news stories that show how media sites and social media are being manipulated to push the agenda favorable to those who control them.