Ask HN: Is HN being censored?
Today I have noticed a post shooting to the top, linked from an mit.edu domain, which is not exactly a junk source, disappearing.
HN gets 1200 submissions a day. Perhaps 100 spend significant time on the front page. Are the other 1100 being censored? Well, people basically use that word depending on how they feel about a story.
You can write to the mods and ask. Most of the times, the answer is that many users flagged the post.
I get that my posts are not so favored here, but I do believe I am doing one of the more “interesting” things in scope of collab. creative writing in terms of “story” / literature
Posted today twice -
Show HN: Build-a-Blocks, a Copyleft Creative Writing Platform [1]
both times, didn’t show up on multiple devices under “new” section of HN
sad because am making quality effort
I don't get it.
I just made that build-a-blocks.html page/file today, so the essence has yet to come
But the idea is basically Linux for literature (or creative writing)
In any case thanks for checking it out
(Not the GP.) I still don't understand.
Is this like Reddit where everyone can post their work?
Is this like Wikipedia where everyone can modify a shared work?
Is this like a blog where only you can post?
---
One important recommendation for post in HN is that it must be at least a working prototype. It's not necessary that it is super polished, or fancy, but it must work minimally.
It seems I need to make things more clear, but also, I just finally (yesterday) created the tags (build-a-block) categories, and haven’t yet started creating / organizing the blocks.
The idea is copyleft creation of literature / movies / plays, anything really.
I’ve been writing a short story series. While the short story is copyright, the characters themselves (which will be featured on blog) will be copyleft (CC BY-SA 4.0) which means you can create with/ reinvent them & sell them commercial
Say you want to be a writer & you want to do your own short story or make a film or reinvent a certain character from one of these short stories for a novel - you can legally do this & resell.
The overarching idea is Linux for storytelling / build your own distro
And demonstrated in a “microblog” format, where the “build-a-blocks” (reworkable writes) make for succinct posts that convey the basic elements.
Probably a best / good use case is in terms of “character-bank” - lotss (so far ~ 60+) of fiction story characters that can be reinvented / reimagined / evolved
Any thoughts on how I can maybe convey that in a more “accessible / succinct” manner?
In any case thanks again :)
Somewhat related: The current popular version of the story of "King Arthur" is a mix of a bunch of books written by different unrelated authors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur#Medieval_literary_... Are you imagining something like that?
Somewhat related: Before launching the "What if?" serie in https://what-if.xkcd.com/ he wrote the first five stories just to be sure that following his idea it was possible to write some interesting post. (I can't find the post where he describe this.) I recommend to try your method and write at least 2 stories.
Yes - pretty much exactly like that.
To make an analogy, kind of like “cryptopunks” in the world of crypto - except instead of “images” you buy & use as profile pictures, these characters have “behaviors, traits, persona, etc.” (revealed in the story) that a wannabe writer can reinvent & use to write an original short story, movie, novel etc. (but has to be copyleft licensed CC BY-SA)
> Somewhat related: Before launching the "What if?" serie in https://what-if.xkcd.com/ he wrote the first five stories just to be sure that following his idea it was possible to write some interesting post.
I have written 2 part short stories, but your idea of connecting “unrelated” short stories sounds a next step
The stories are pretty good .. maybe I should make more of them free? I have zero lit community to talk to about this so I do much appreciate you helping me “conceptualize” this & providing the resources by which to offer comparisons / explanation..
Maybe I’ll just give them all away for free. (Almost am at that point anyway) In any case, will share with you in comment a short story I wrote to give you an idea the kind of story. Thanks again - and if you’ve any more thoughts I’ll check by here
Enjoy your Sunday
“Let’s hit it.”
Bby grl said so to Bookie, her bodyguard accountant, who punched the big-speaker’d stereo.
Bad-ass funk bopped out the boom-box. The couple cut out the apartment, down the elevator, into the city.
The two shuf-step’d down the block — going shopping, tune-bumping on the walk.
Speakerboxxx was on Bookie’s right shoulder.
On his left was an armoire of drawers cuz some days that bby grl really bought clothes.
“With fashion, there’s only the Present.”
It was an outlook she played by ever since a wee orphan, growing up all on her own on New York City streets.
It all started @ age sixteen, when bby grl thought enough peeps looked her way to throw a hat down, pose kitty.
Most folks did pass by looking.
One tossed her two tokens, Knox Golden.
And then one noontime a limousine pulled up.
bby grl said she’d only take a ride to negotiate a Modeling Contract to her liking.
Next day she was showcasing new styles, live-modeling her Oliver Twist origins on the streets.
Cameras snapped, coins stacked.
Shows & shoots kept booking.
But on any day she had free, her most favorite thing to do was to go shopping & bby grl always got hers from London Thrift.
The warehouse was nondescript, black steel & rusty, tucked away in Chelsea.
On the door, Bookie knuckle-knocked specially. Door opened.
bby grl dash-stepped inside, aisle-strolling, not so pleased w/ the viewing.
“This wear’s neither here or there.”
Didn’t take bby grl but seconds to see what to her was worth wearing.
“Wasting my time ..” she sighed.
as bby grl didn’t sport just anything, but outfit & accessory so vivid, her own.
“This thrift reminds me of dish-soap.” she reflected, “Soapy watered-down colored fabrics, cut in odd ways.”
Her words cut to the bone of the LT mgmt but somedays @ a thrift shop, best in show just wasn’t in stock.
She ran her hand through a rack of blouses, pushed it over.
“Whoops.”
& that bby grl sure was dramatic but entertainment was her biz & she was bored, mostly.
“Kidding me.”
She stopped by a neon color’d raincoat, reached into the pocket, pulling out — “Yesterday’s Paper, literally.”
In her hand was the Times from yesterday; London Thrift, a local treasury.
At this point, she screamed as shopping with Excalibur taste, even for bby grl, became overwhelming.
“Bookie’ve you a cigarette?”
Bookie had two packs, & handed bby grl one of hers.
bby grl took a sec, lit up right there, aisle 9.
Bookie lit up, too.
He fucking hated shopping.
Would crush skulls to get out of going but somebody had to carry bby grl’s latest & bby boy sure wouldn’t do so.
She blew a cloud of smoke, long & slow. Felt nicotine.
Suddenly, was noticing —
“Y’see that?”
She was pointing her red hot cigarette-tip to a distant clothes-bin
w/ vision for one in a million.
“Hold this.”
Next thing, bby grl was reaching her arms up.
Bookie was breathing-in a long drag when she jumped — flew — up through London Thrift.
Arcing over, she dove in a clothes-bin of denim.
The LT mgmt ran up to watch as bby grl, enmeshed in an ocean of shades, electric-eeled her body, direction × rhythm towards which she envisioned.
And it’s worth mentioning that swimming through clothes just came to bby grl naturally.
Suddenly!
Blow-holing out the Denim Sea, crowned atop a fount of blue, bby girl, aerial flipping through the thrift store, landing right beside Bookie, raising up the Blue-Jean Baby Blue Jeans she’d found.
“What Stevie Nicks wore in Dreams ..”
Having fished out proper vintage, she stepped behind a calligraphy screen,
right-quick, slipped into the jeans.
Reaching in her blue-jean back-pocket, she pulled out a Walkie Talkie, pressed & held the button, which connected her to the intercom:
“Bring in the real, please.”
Along an aisle of ‘Lost Sock’ Collection Boxes, an Arabian Tent was opening.
A Merchant was unveiling barrels where like gems, exquisite garments were cached.
“Goods from the Silk Road ..” said the Merchant.
Some days Exotic Fashion happened bby grl’s way.
she didn’t take it for granted.
without delay she pinged like a lazr b/w the articles, discerning eye yay-nay imprompt-choosing.
She cast her choice fashion through the air.
Rainbowing-up from the bazaar, colorful fabrics yonder-flying across London Thrift.
@ it’s end was Bookie, dash-running around mad w/ armoire, catching outfits, teeth bit through both his cig & bby’s.
Somehow, he was managing to catch every last piece of fashion — until a red-white striped top-hat landed in the top-drawer.
Bookie slammed all four drawers shut fast.
“Miss,” he said, “No more fashion will fit.”
& bby grl didn’t never not once want to quit when shopped hot on a spree.
“But it’s like that.”
& she did, after-all, much appreciate all the trouble Bookie’d gone to to catch her fashion in the drawers so neat.
“So let’s book it.”
bby grl walked out London Thrift.
@ the counter, Bookie reached in his pocket, pulled out / dropped a sack of gold coins, jubilant to be done shopping.
“By the way,” bby grl was saying to Bookie, “When we get back to the apt we’ve got to go shopping @ bby gap w/ bby boy.”
as so hearing Bookie thought to smash down the armoire into a blaze of incredible fire, but bby’s style counted on him & so he self-controlled & tantrum-contained
//for every generation, there’s a bby
The observation is correct but the interpretation is mistaken.
Some of the community wants those submissions to be on the front page. But another segment of the community is flagging them. You're attributing one action to "the community" and an opposite action to "censorship", but I can assure you that both are coming from the community. The community is simply divided.
This tug of war between upvotes and flags is in large part how HN's front page gets constituted. It's typical for the most sensational stories to get heavily upvoted at first, enough to make the front page, but then to trigger an immune reaction from the rest of the community. Those who like the story will say that it is flagged "for no reason"; but large sectors of the community do not share their views, and from these others' point of view, it wasn't "for no reason" at all.
In the case of the recent Israel vs. Gaza stories, the mods mostly didn't intervene. To the extent that we did intervene, it was to override user flags on certain stories. That makes me think that your statement, "It's frankly eye opening how much censorship there is going on", is an overinterpretation.
Should we have intervened more or less? Unfortunately the answer to that question is isomorphic to your pre-existing position on the underlying issue.
All of which I think is fine, this isnt really the medium for that. When a big event occurs, they allow the discussion, otherwise, things get downranked. I really dont think the downranking is by members, it usually happens too rapidly, and makes no sense given the number of replies occurring in the thread.
I think HN is best thought of as a machine for deepening the delusions of the left. Nothing they don't like will reach the front page, first of all, or if it does, it will be flagged. Whatever remains for consideration, in the comment section you are allowed to fiddle around with a few extraneous details about it, but you can't skewer the whole thing. You can't say it's fundamentally invalid. Nor can you question the source. If it's a science article from the Guardian, you can't link to ten false science predictions the Guardian made in the past and ask people not to post fake news; the Guardian is simply blessed. It is Official Information.
The leftists on HN can throw bricks at your head all day long. But if you pick up any of those bricks and start throwing them back, you'll be downvoted or even banned for being inflammatory.
The evidence is you can't talk about censorship itself, it will get censored. (this post will be case and point)
In theory this happens because a lot of people flag posts. In theory.
One thing, for sure, is that I noticed in the trump era, that there seemed to be some kind of pro-trump task force that flagged everything non-positive about trump and its administration
In fact that accusation is what made notice this disappearance, but now thinking about it it must come from the community as you say and not from mods.
I guess that answers my question with a no, there is no censorship on HN but bias of the community on certain topics.
Thanks
PS: thanks for the showdead tip, will look it up.