My friend, has HN ever been anything other than right-leaning? Realistically speaking.
This is of course not to suggest right wing extremism is present here, but merely a general lean. A lot of folks mistake being “socially liberal” as sufficient to be “left-leaning” when in reality the fiscal part of the equation is inextricably linked as well.
The big government and regulation one often sees as part of implementing an equitable society is not supported here. You know that as well as I do. This is a community with a lot of hackers and startup minded folks who see regulation / government involvement as an impediment rather than a platform to lift up the disenfranchised.
Disruptors don’t like the forces that squash disruption. Fairly unremarkable.
Yes. Socially liberal and fiscally conservative is textbook libertarian, which is not inherently right-wing, though many libertarians do lean that way.
There are certainly plenty of more progressive voices with broader concern sets about services like AirBnB. It was never being proposed that there are no progressive voices.
They just represent a thinner, less upvoted slice.
I will, however, concede that libertarian does not necessarily mean right-leaning, though they presently seem to hang together.
The comments that bubble up (or get otherwise suppressed with votes) speak otherwise.
But “centrists” in 2020 are far closer to right-leaning because of said Overton window.
If you want to call center in 2020 a true center then sure, the site is drawing from the “whole range” equally. To the extent you acknowledge the impact of global cultural shifts and the deeper meaning of ‘left’ or ‘right’ then I would contend otherwise.
I really don't think so. They speak more loudly to you because you're primed to hear them (https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor...). The opposite side is primed the opposite way and so it makes the opposite generalization.
If you stop to think about what this means, it's pretty staggering. It means that we experience ourselves as being surrounded by enemies or, as I metaphorically sometimes put it, demons: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&so...
This cognitive bias is one of the most powerful forces on the internet, including HN, and if there's one thing I've learned from years of moderation, it's "underestimate it at your peril".
Perhaps it is merely that we disagree on the matter (or where “center” lies, which is interesting in and of itself).
And that’s fine. The political environment of grad school in social sciences, then hard sciences, industry in the more formal sciences and industry in software. Growing up around strong conservatives in rural areas. I’ve seen a decent sampling of perspectives.
I do not fault HN for its (generalized) leanings. It’s just a feature of this specific community and I enjoy it for reasons unique to it. No indictment or whatever.
Might be fun to do a poll though.