Ghost Protocols

ribbonfarm.com

51 points·jger15··15 comments

Bits I especially liked:

Then there’s softer Gemeinschaft ghost protocols, like the one the housed adopt towards the homeless.

A ghost protocol cannot be announced or otherwise ceremonialized. Cancelation, exile, or excommunication are not forms of ghosting.

Is being childless really that much of an ostracisation in (I assume) North America? It is certainly noone else's business (save for maybe your parents) here in Northern Europe.

Not really. I suppose it's the author struggling with dogma. Let's hope they make it through to the other side.

Is shadow banning a form of ghost protocol? something HN of course engages in.

There are a lot of smart people here who are shadow banned, I'm constantly vouching for accounts who have zero warnings or any mod-correspondence to show for it. It kind of feels like Reddit except there's no coherent ideology being censored, just random nerds who say interesting things I can't read without squinting or selecting.

I spend a lot of time vouching as well.

Is that actual shadowbanning? Or just overzealous flagging by certain users?

Since it is without explanation in the majority of cases, I can only assume it is overzealous dangs and other mod team members that are less visible. They are immediate, and without explanation.

This is what people mean when they talk about 'ghosting' other people online.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com