- Per the guide-lines : "Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports"
- Per usage
The sentence goes on, saying unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon which might apply here.
Did you read the subtitle?
"For years, a subculture of teenage hobbyhorse enthusiasts flourished under the radar."
Can we stop the jousting match here? If this were a website for teenage hobbyhorse enthusiasts I'm sure it would be old news. But it's interesting to people who haven't heard of it before. It's OK for others to like things that you don't. There will always be some of that on Hacker News and the most polite thing we can do is leave others to their enjoyment.
"I caution against beginning or ending a quotation with ellipses."
-- Bill Walsh
> If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.
That seems to apply here.
The NYT is not "TV news". The goal of that rule isn't to exclude any mainstream news publication.