

Ask HN: Are threads Banned from the Front Page?  (Is flagging too powerful?) - kenjackson

I've noticed that some threads get booted from the HN front page and are no where to be found.  I noticed this for example this morning with:<p>http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2695670<p>It was #1 on the front page for a bit and then disappeared.  I couldn't find it out all the way out to #300, when I stopped looking (its still on the list of new threads though).<p>I get that some may have flagged the thread (although I'd argue it isn't justified), but can a thread get flagged in such a way that pushes it so far down the rankings as to be virtually non-discoverable?  If so that seems like a flaw in the flag system that it seems so much more powerful than upvotes.
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spolsky
Probably moderators decided that was Apple flamebait and would generate more
heat than light, or that it was off-topic for hackers.

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kenjackson
Hmm... I didn't even know there were moderators here. :-)

Although it seems odd. To me this wasn't meant to be Apple flamebait. But
rather more about the state of software/tech reporting in mainstream news
outlets (which is why I had the focus on the title on Pogue, not on FCPX).

Well learning there are moderators at least answers my question. Although I
can't say I'm not disappointed by their discretion.

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mooism2
Anyone with enough karma is a moderator. You have way more karma than me, so
you're a moderator too.

I think the title you chose was a bit flamebaity (I wouldn't have flagged it
myself though). If you had made a blog post about the state of software/tech
reporting that linked to the Pogue piece and included quotes, then posted that
to HN, I don't think it would have been flagged.

As it was, you were insulting about Pogue _and didn't make your broader
point_.

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bauchidgw
there is now an awesome search box in the footer of every HN page - the story
is still discover-able there

~~~
kenjackson
Nice! I never noticed it before. I'm surprised about its placement, but thanks
for the heads-up!

