

How the US Rendered, Tortured and Discarded One Innocent Man - acqq
http://www.thenation.com/article/168621/how-us-rendered-tortured-and-discarded-one-innocent-man

======
ColinWright
Here's an opinion:

People argue about what is and is not "on topic" for HN. Regularly items are
submitted, only for people to say that since it's nothing to do with
programming, technology, startups, or entrepreneurship, then it's not suitable
for HN.

Quoting the guidlelines:

    
    
        On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting.
        That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to
        reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that
        gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.
    

Those are the guidelines as laid down by our host, and that's fair enough. But
I'd like to see a cultural shift. I'd like to add:

    
    
        If it's not in some way specific to the interests of hackers,
        then it's probably off-topic.
    

I submit a lot of stuff about education and mathematics, because I think these
are subjects that interest hackers, but not the wider public. Topics that of
more general interest I'd like to say don't really belong here.

This submission, in particular, should be of wide-spread, ubiquitous interest.
It shouldn't be in any way specific to hackers, technologists, programmers, or
entrepreneurs. In that way I believe that although it is and should be of
interest to pretty much everyone here (including non-Americans) it is in no
way specific to the interests of the community, and hence it is not really on
topic.

So yes, I'm pleased to have seen it. But I personally think it's off-topic for
HN. It should be of interest to HNers, but only because it should be of
interest to everyone.

~~~
sethrin
What precisely do you gain by having a narrow focus? What do you lose by
having this story on the front page for half a day?

What is essentially wrong with being off-topic?

Honestly, I think this place would be awful if it only had the focus you
intend. The advertising nature of posts about this new project or that startup
frequently crosses the line between informative and irritating.

~~~
ColinWright
In short, if you don't define and maintain a specific focus then people can
and will start posting videos of pratfalls and pictures of kittens. _Some_
focus is needed, and the question is how narrowly to define that.

I would like to see HN stay focused on things of interest to hackers, nerds,
and geeks, as opposed to things that are of wider interest. There are plenty
of places that cater to other interests, and few that are specific to "us".

    
    
        Honestly, I think this place would be awful
        if it only had the focus you intend.
    

"Intend" is the wrong word, but I hear what you say. That's your opinion, and
you are entitled to hold it. If there was _no_ focus here then I'd go
elsewhere, and that's also fine. I'd just try to find, or found, another site
that _does_ have more of the focus I'd like to see.

------
dusing
not HN

~~~
mmariani
Why not? You're trying to say there's no place for humanitarianism in HN?

A man was wrongly imprisoned and tortured, had his life torn apart. Now some
people need to tell his story in order to get funding so he can get help to
get up on his feet. What's wrong with that?

~~~
pitiburi
Sadly, Jonathan is letting his very strong political views once again get the
upper hand and he flagged something he feels is somehow against the "best
interest" of his country. For us participating in HN from outside the USA, it
is baffling to see guys that can be so involved and intelligent on some issues
(he is Creative Director at row27) and at the same time so openly aggressive
and irrational on others. And yes, sorry, but it is irrational to say that
this is not HN material, but actively participate in other political threads
when they are about some political victories of your own political party (as
he did for example in "Senate votes to repeal 1099 reporting requirement in
health care law"). And BTW, as we always have to sadly explain, this would be
the same if he is not republican but democrat or whatever. Some of us just
really dislike double standards. And flagging this story because it makes your
Military and government look bad, and excusing yourself in "not HN", well...

~~~
dusing
I'm sorry you feel that way, I hadn't thought I had ever expressed a "very
strong political view" on HN. I flagged this article as "Not HN" because it
doesn't really talk about startups, investing, coding, or anything really
related to this forum, and apparently others agreed because it disappeared
from the home page minutes later.

But I feel I'm probably feeding a troll.

~~~
pitiburi
Jonathan, then if you feel that way, why do you never flagged but instead
participated in discussions in HN about political voting for the medical
health bill? Please explain to us if Republicans winning a vote about it is
something to be considered in the "investing", "startups", or "coding"
category? Shameful from you call me a troll. You have no arguments, you just
insult....

