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Comment by mcphage | Hacker News Reader

I’m not sure how reporting on a thing of concern that is happening counts as clickbait. That’s just… reporting.

The title makes it sound like the cause is unknown and so this is mysterious, a possible cause for panic. Hence why GP specifically leads with that the cause is actually known and even explained in the article...

Title doesn’t say anything about whether the cause is known or isn’t.

It describes a phenomenon that a layperson would find extraordinary, and does not mention the cause, which is in fact known. It's reasonable to interpret this as suppressing the cause from a title which reasonably ought to mention it.

Yes, that's how hinting works: you don't spell the stuff out. Hence why it's a bait (something misleading), and not an outright lie.

Yes and no. OP's title says alarm: great fear and concern. However, there was reporting back in 2015 (https://gilroydispatch.com/blue-pig-shot-at-morgan-hill-ranc...) about this identical issue. The cause and the solution was known then, and even before.

It's a pun. I think? The article references squirrel bait as the cause. "Bait" combined with an article that you click on. So ... "click" "bait." Get it?

The tipoff is that people usually write it as one word, "clickbait," when talking about a sensationalistic title designed to simulates clicks generating ad revenue.

OK, so maybe that person's joke wasn't so successful, but it seems like a fairly gentle attempt, which shouldn't be punished.

No, it's a sensationalistic title designed to stimulate clicks generating ad revenue.

I think your brain is a bit starved for excitement if this title reads as sensationalistic for you.

I thought headlines were supposed to be a quick summary of the article as much as possible. Now I see many headlines that are basically "click to learn why!"

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