The population of HN isn't just anti-SOPA because it's fashionable. SOPA would directly affect small internet businesses by putting the onus of copyright policing on site owners. Considering how many of the HN startups have any user generated content at all, it's a real concern for the vast majority of them. To not advocate against SOPA would be foolish.

Since when is being a web programmer a prerequisite to participating on HN?

Slashdot was always an advocacy site. Rob Malda posted about a similar action he took in 1996, before /. got its name. https://plus.google.com/u/0/105030465637303791249/posts/MTYL...

I agree. Sure discussions about SOPA have their place here, but lately it just felt like a bit echo chamber where you have the same people preaching to the choir using the same arguments over and over again.

If I look at the homepage right now it seems half the posts are "site XXX blacked out to protest SOPA". Do all those need a separate story? The redditization of HN is running wild.

Will september ever end?