“Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. That destroys intellectual curiosity, which is what the site exists for.”
Yet at least half of all comments on HN are ideological and political from how they read and what arguments they invoke. There is no incentive unless you are playing a game to respond to a political or ideological view from a purely curious place and half of the views posted on HN are ideological and/or political.
The key word is "battle". Political or ideological debate and inquiry are welcome. But if you're repeating the same talking points over and over, that's battle.
You're right that there are no incentives for playing a game here. This site exists to gratify intellectual curiosity. Other discussion boards do give points for repeating popular slogans.
Here, before commenting on well-worn topics like racism, ask yourself, "Is this an idea that most readers won't have considered? Do I have a unique insight that adds something new to the discussion?" If not, move on. Lots of things are discussed here, so you can surely find some where you have a unique perspective.
I understand that the facade of rationality you've wrapped your argument in is really about controlling the course of debate. No one wants to play dictator unless they're deeply broken and insecure. Good luck.
