[flagged]

> Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, brigading, foreign agents, and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data.

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

	▲	ronsor 2 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		They're specifically referring to the dead comments from new users in this thread, so it's not insinuation. They're pointing out a higher-than-normal quantity of shill bots flocked to this thread. The fact that the comments are dead means the system is working as intended, but it's not unreasonable to point out the nature of the comments.
	▲	AbrahamParangi 2 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		That seems shockingly naive.

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gopher_space 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The mistake is thinking that an organic entity won't reject causality when it interferes with their politics.

The interesting thing here is that this isn't an always-on feature. You can actually see the process on a person's face. I was delighted by the recent DOGE depositions because the video quality is good enough to see the guy's eyes stop moving and glaze over.

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2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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fwipsy 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Can you be more specific? I see a lot of uninformed takes, but no specific bias. Do you mean downvotes?

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davidw 2 days ago | parent [-]

If you turn on the thing that shows 'dead' comments, there is a larger than normal number here.

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dfabulich 2 days ago | parent [-]

Indeed, and the dead comments (from new users!) overwhelmingly favor the government position.

But, this is a non-story, because those comments were correctly killed precisely so they wouldn't clog up this thread.

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swsieber 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

I wouldn't call something a non-story just because the ultimate end-goal was mitigated. The fact that it was attempted is a story, especially when it's a meta commentary on story about trying the same thing _officially_.

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SecretDreams 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Eh. The actors that use these features use a shotgun approach. The result is you see a bunch of dead comments and assume the system is working as intended, while a couple of the less inconspicuous comments persist. This happens frequently on specific topics.

	▲	2 days ago \| parent [-]
		[deleted]

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longislandguido 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Do you think it's more likely a government influence operation, or a single dipshit lazily pasting LLM slop?

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nutjob2 2 days ago | parent [-]

Could be organic dipshits with little to offer the discussion. That's the most common case in my view.

Said dipshits tend have an unnecessarily high degree of self regard.

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SecretDreams 2 days ago | parent [-]

They're definitely highly regarded.

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nozzlegear 2 days ago | parent [-]

Veiled slurs aren't funny and don't contribute anything to HN.

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SecretDreams 2 days ago | parent [-]

Nor do bots and one track minded posters.

	▲	nozzlegear 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		I'd argue that it depends on what the track is. But yeah, bots and slurs: bad. Let's stop using them.

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longislandguido 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Are you suggesting there is a government conspiracy to influence this dusty corner dive bar of the Internet?

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ahhhhnoooo 2 days ago | parent [-]

Are there tech workers who don't know what HN is? It's a pretty reasonably sized social media site.

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BeetleB 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

At my previous job at a well known, established large tech company - I didn't find anyone who had heard of HN.

Not about people using HN. But even being aware the site exists.

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longislandguido 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I'm reminded of that episode of Portlandia where the mayor was obsessed with thinking the city was bigger and more important than it actually is.

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ahhhhnoooo 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

I don't think I overstated it. Tech workers is a small piece of the global population.

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Der_Einzige 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Portland OR has a higher GDP than Vancouver BC.

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longislandguido 2 days ago | parent [-]

Sadly, Portland is a backwater logging outpost and no one outside the PNW gives a shit about Portland or could place it on a map. I'm sorry, it's true.

	▲	ahhhhnoooo 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		That's how I feel about Dallas, Pittsburgh, Tallahassee, etc. I think we're all just not as familiar with regions outside our own.

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rustystump 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I had no idea what hn was until about 2 years ago. This would be 8 years into a career in tech… there are dozens of us.

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2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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tick_tock_tick 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Nah I think a lot of the judicial overreach is just pissing off a lot of the regular hackernews userbase off. This fit the law to a T.

And then if it's not this it's blocking the removal of a temporary order. Just tons of garbage that was implemented without any law now all of a sudden is permanent because a judge decided.