

Ask HN: Confused about a dead comment - RiderOfGiraffes

Some time ago on this item:<p>http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1833203<p>which asks about algorithms that blew one's mind, I replied with a comment that mentioned that high-dimensioanl spheres should be thought of as "spikey":<p>http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1834273<p>Someone asked why:<p>http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1834508<p>and I promised a write-up.<p>I've now produced that write-up:<p>http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1846682<p>As so often happens, whether it's timing, luck or disinterest, that submission has sunk from the "New" page and will probably never be seen again.   That happens, no surprise, no problem.<p>However, to tidy up I went back to the original to point at the new item and say that I'd produced the write-up that people had asked for.  No problem there.<p>But it's dead.  Here, look for yourselves:<p>http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1847180<p>When I'm logged in that item is there.  When I'm not logged in it's dead.  Further more, it was dead almost instantly, without time for people to flag it.<p>Any ideas?
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RiderOfGiraffes
Clickables:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1833203> <\- Asking about algorithms

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1834273> <\- High-D spheres are "spikey"

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1834508> <\- Why?

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1846682> <\- The write-up

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1847180> <\- The inexplicably dead cross-
reference.

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RiderOfGiraffes
Added in follow-up - I may have worked out what happened, but I'd still be
interested in people's thoughts.

~~~
pavel_lishin
In general, I don't understand why links and submissions on HN go dead. Is it
always due to admin intervention?

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
In general there are a few very good reasons:

\+ It gets flagged by sufficiently many people who believe it to be
inappropriate

\+ It comes from a known blacklisted site

\+ It falls foul of behavior most commonly associated with spam.

The case in question here is in the last of these. I submitted the comment,
realised I'd put it in the wrong place, deleted it, and immediately reposted
in a different comment. That's behavior adopted by spammers - posting
identical comments in several places in a very short time span.

Spending long enough here, and thinking about it carefully, most cases can be
analysed and understood.

