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Comment by LudwigNagasena | Hacker News Reader

> HN does not specifically ask for gender in the profile (which is a good thing, IMO, since it's not necessary for the discussions)

Agree.

> Maybe we are in for a pleasant surprise in terms of demographics

How can any such result be pleasant or unpleasant?

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people's emotions and moods are influenced by their perception of the environment, including things they see, hear, or even think about

therefore even the virtual presence of something wonderful* being in one's vicinity can have an impact on an individual's emotional state, making the environment feel more "pleasant"

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_are_wonderful

Pleasant in the sense that I'd love to see some myths about this being a 'man-only' site dispelled. Should have clarified that!

why do you use the term 'myth' ?

Maybe 'assumption' would have been the better choice. Given that HN is (for me!) broadly about playfully engaging with technology and society at large, I would expect that this _should_ attract a relatively diverse audience.

"this site just has too many blacks on it"

see how that's problematic?

Fully agree with you there! As I said, I'm merely interested in getting a rough picture of the demographics (INB4: selection bias etc.). I find the statement you mention just as problematic as if you were to switch out the ethnic identity with _any_ form (self-identified) identity. That being said, I don't see anything problematic about looking at population demographics and then asking _why_ some identities are over- or under-represented. This poll should not be used for that, though :-)

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