The "hide" button is on every article. Most articles don't have political discussion.
When the political environment becomes unstable, people need to reach out to communities that they trust. For some people, here is where they are comfortable, and where they meet people whose character is legible enough to them that they can place trust. By saying "no politics here" you're denying the people who find this their safe space the ability to share their fears about the situation.
IMO the main difference between the current US administration and those usually considered authoritarian, is that it does not yet use violence to discipline it's own side. But if it remains, that is an unavoidable step on the roadmap. It's supporters are acting like democracy and the rule of law can be denied to some people, while they retain them; that is not a sustainable state of affairs. "Business as usual" is short-sighted.
These are special circumstances. There is a point that if we do nothing in a year or two authoritarianism will be normalized. As it stands now, we are disappearing people without warrants and so much more. Resist and Unsubscribe[0]
I always thought it was ridiculous that HN had a "no politics" rule. It is arrogance to think you can segment "politics" and confine it and then be above it somehow by using this as an excuse to not have discussions that make you uncomfortable. Everything is political.
I get that you are upset but they should certainly be opt-in issues, here.
If people from Kyiv, Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Congo, Venezuela or Rwanda can come here and contribute to topics of tech and curiosity without making it about their situation, then so can anyone else.
There is value in having sanctuaries. Their existence doesn't mean you have given up.
This story is entirely under HN's remit. HN’s purpose is explicit. It is not “keep things comfortable.”
It is “curious, informed discussion of what matters in and around tech.”
When a top tech firm is materially enabling coercion or violence, and even dodging the press over it, that is a tech story first and foremost. And it matters.
Besides which: Your argument is very old, and has been rejected many, many, many times.
> there are so many communities that have fallen, and I don't want to lose another
What killed r/technology wasn't 'politics'. It was mass censorship, shit mods, brigading, clickbait farming, and allowing the toxic elements to spread bs unchecked. You know, like when you let any users flag stories and then unaccountable mods with no logs very selectively unflag the ones they like.
Censoring 'political' topics just makes the smartest and coolest people leave. And our tech companies have been complicit collaborators in far too many serious crimes lately to trust things to work themselves out without even looking at them.
Tech companies have been deeply entangled with states and coercive institutions for decades, now up to the point of genocide, concentration camps, and masked thugs with "total federal immunity". Pretending that’s off-limits isn't community preservation. It's wilful ignorance and must be firmly rejected.
ajb|23 days ago
When the political environment becomes unstable, people need to reach out to communities that they trust. For some people, here is where they are comfortable, and where they meet people whose character is legible enough to them that they can place trust. By saying "no politics here" you're denying the people who find this their safe space the ability to share their fears about the situation.
IMO the main difference between the current US administration and those usually considered authoritarian, is that it does not yet use violence to discipline it's own side. But if it remains, that is an unavoidable step on the roadmap. It's supporters are acting like democracy and the rule of law can be denied to some people, while they retain them; that is not a sustainable state of affairs. "Business as usual" is short-sighted.
trinsic2|23 days ago
[0]: https://www.resistandunsubscribe.com/
asveikau|23 days ago
2OEH8eoCRo0|23 days ago
browningstreet|23 days ago
These aren’t opt-in issues.
Kon5ole|23 days ago
I get that you are upset but they should certainly be opt-in issues, here.
If people from Kyiv, Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Congo, Venezuela or Rwanda can come here and contribute to topics of tech and curiosity without making it about their situation, then so can anyone else.
There is value in having sanctuaries. Their existence doesn't mean you have given up.
Neil44|23 days ago
Schmerika|23 days ago
> only vaguely HN related
This story is entirely under HN's remit. HN’s purpose is explicit. It is not “keep things comfortable.” It is “curious, informed discussion of what matters in and around tech.”
When a top tech firm is materially enabling coercion or violence, and even dodging the press over it, that is a tech story first and foremost. And it matters.
Besides which: Your argument is very old, and has been rejected many, many, many times.
> there are so many communities that have fallen, and I don't want to lose another
What killed r/technology wasn't 'politics'. It was mass censorship, shit mods, brigading, clickbait farming, and allowing the toxic elements to spread bs unchecked. You know, like when you let any users flag stories and then unaccountable mods with no logs very selectively unflag the ones they like.
Censoring 'political' topics just makes the smartest and coolest people leave. And our tech companies have been complicit collaborators in far too many serious crimes lately to trust things to work themselves out without even looking at them.
Tech companies have been deeply entangled with states and coercive institutions for decades, now up to the point of genocide, concentration camps, and masked thugs with "total federal immunity". Pretending that’s off-limits isn't community preservation. It's wilful ignorance and must be firmly rejected.
unknown|23 days ago
[deleted]
unknown|23 days ago
[deleted]