> Is it broken that HN hides things that an apparently significant subset of its members aren't interested in, or is the brokenness that there are people in HN that aren't interested in it?
While conversations about sexual equality and oppression *are* *important*, they are not appropriate for *every* forum. There *need* to be *some* forums that are largely free from such topics. Why?
I've been on Metafilter for a loooooooong time. I've been on HN for -Jesus- nearly five years. I've seen how the free proliferation of rabid Social Justice Warriors changed most discourse on Metafilter from a civil -and sometimes enlightening- meeting of folks with often wildly differing viewpoints to a shaming, browbeating, pile-on of anyone who happens to represent (or tacitly support) the Monster of the Week.
The few sexual equality/oppression articles that *do* make it to the front page of HN don't create any better conversation than happens on Metafilter. I'm fairly convinced that discussion of such topics in soft-moderated forums comprised entirely of random pseudonymous people is bound to be troubling, frustrating, and profoundly unproductive. (Much like the comments section of most any article on most any newspaper's website.)
Sexist Internet Blowhards are pretty much never going to be converted by being told how and why they're wrong by Random Internet Strangers. They require -like anyone else with unpleasant deep-seated habits- gentle, constant, corrective pressure over long periods of time.
This sort of correction is (to my knowledge) *never* found in the comments section attached to sexual equality articles. What *is* typically found in such comments are re-hashes of the same old arguments, with proponents and opponents fighting past each other for the nth time.
For those of us who try to spend a large amount of our down-time learning, and those of us who are drained by the injustices of the world, running into the same old fights and arguments when we were instead seeking new knowledge saps us of our will to learn and create. This is deeply unfair to those of us who *already* understand what we must do to help create a more fair and equitable society.
Perhaps some might think it fair that a generation of the Socially Privileged Classes has their psyche perpetually worn at by the plight of the less fortunate, and their time tithed in support of those same unfortunates. However, this doesn't seem to comport with the message of social justice and equality that I see the more moderate of the Social Justice folks advancing.
It *is* right and proper to -over time- correct Sexism, Racism, and all the other -isms. But, even the most stalwart crusaders for a cause need a place to rest, recuperate, and pursue their hobbies in peace.
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Date: 2015-07-09 06:44 am (UTC)While conversations about sexual equality and oppression *are* *important*, they are not appropriate for *every* forum. There *need* to be *some* forums that are largely free from such topics. Why?
I've been on Metafilter for a loooooooong time. I've been on HN for -Jesus- nearly five years. I've seen how the free proliferation of rabid Social Justice Warriors changed most discourse on Metafilter from a civil -and sometimes enlightening- meeting of folks with often wildly differing viewpoints to a shaming, browbeating, pile-on of anyone who happens to represent (or tacitly support) the Monster of the Week.
The few sexual equality/oppression articles that *do* make it to the front page of HN don't create any better conversation than happens on Metafilter. I'm fairly convinced that discussion of such topics in soft-moderated forums comprised entirely of random pseudonymous people is bound to be troubling, frustrating, and profoundly unproductive. (Much like the comments section of most any article on most any newspaper's website.)
Sexist Internet Blowhards are pretty much never going to be converted by being told how and why they're wrong by Random Internet Strangers. They require -like anyone else with unpleasant deep-seated habits- gentle, constant, corrective pressure over long periods of time.
This sort of correction is (to my knowledge) *never* found in the comments section attached to sexual equality articles. What *is* typically found in such comments are re-hashes of the same old arguments, with proponents and opponents fighting past each other for the nth time.
For those of us who try to spend a large amount of our down-time learning, and those of us who are drained by the injustices of the world, running into the same old fights and arguments when we were instead seeking new knowledge saps us of our will to learn and create. This is deeply unfair to those of us who *already* understand what we must do to help create a more fair and equitable society.
Perhaps some might think it fair that a generation of the Socially Privileged Classes has their psyche perpetually worn at by the plight of the less fortunate, and their time tithed in support of those same unfortunates. However, this doesn't seem to comport with the message of social justice and equality that I see the more moderate of the Social Justice folks advancing.
It *is* right and proper to -over time- correct Sexism, Racism, and all the other -isms. But, even the most stalwart crusaders for a cause need a place to rest, recuperate, and pursue their hobbies in peace.