> Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.

And, to editorialize: news orgs, your favorite political blogs, and even Twitter will have better commentary than HN.

Edit: for example, the joking sibling comment.

Look at the discussion that happens in response to a story like this. I don't see any novel or "curious" conversation, not to say there are not a lot of valid arguments, but they are old and don't really bring anything to the site. If HN was just this sort of polarizing topic, it would lose its appeal pretty fast.

I don't actually know what the [flagged] tag adds to the story, though I think it's the right policy to let it play out so people can have their say while "burying" it so it doesn't dominate the front page and attract too much attention.

Because the quality of the discussion is awful.

Zero good discussion will happen here. That's why I flagged it.

Either panic flagging or HN politics shining through.

A lot of political stuff is not suitable for the front-page but some things just are by virtue of either changing precedent or evoking deep questions.