[flagged]
https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
and (c) it's in the FAQ:
Q: Are negative stories about YC suppressed on HN?
A: No, we moderate less, not more, when YC or a YC startup is the topic. The good will of the community is worth more than any story.
Btw, your question about story rank is also in the FAQ:
Q: Why is A ranked below B even though A has more points and is newer?
A: You can't derive rank from votes and time alone. See "How are stories ranked?" above.
Here's an example FBI case from their website that shares some similar overall features to what the crime would be, if there turns out to have been a crime. https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/two-new-yorkers-plead-g...
We've found the best approach is to answer questions openly, let the answer persuade those who find it persuasive, and not chase diminishing returns down the long tail of objections. That approach only works if the community finds it persuasive—otherwise hellfire would rain on our heads—but empirically, the bulk of the community does. I think most people understand that it isn't in our interests to lie about how we administer HN. The good faith of the community is the only value that HN has. Why would we risk that, and for what?
Edit: actually this is kind of an interesting example to work through. Let's assume the OP is authentic, everything in it is true, and that it's an important new development (what I called SNI here yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38357788). How would it help YC if we suppressed it on HN? It would only make the HN threads less interesting, since (by hypothesis) the real story wouldn't be getting discussed. People would leave HN in search of interesting discussion elsewhere. That would make HN less valuable. Meanwhile, being an important story, it would end up getting attention everywhere else, people would keep posting it to HN, and we'd have to keep suppressing it. We'd end up in a fight with the community, a fight we'd be sure to lose. This is a way to destroy HN, not squeeze extra value out of it!
My guess is that users are flagging this story because of some combo of: they doubt that it's authentic; they doubt that its claims are true; and/or they don't think the claims are SNI* even if they are true. Perhaps some are thinking "oh my god, not another open letter—I'm so sick of this saga..."
I get that you do consider it true and important, but so far, the community verdict is against your view. If the flaggers are wrong, they story will get some confirmatory reporting soon enough. I'd be surprised if a few eager reporters aren't already looking into it. If they find some there there, we'll be able to have a discussion soon enough. In the meantime, this story hasn't yet cleared the bar for SNI—especially since there are dozens of articles being posted about this topic right now.
* Significant New Information - see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38357788 etc.
I have screenshots of every single step in this story's suppressed rise to the HN frontpage, and of my comment's scores over time. If YC is ever investigated for stock manipulation, journalists may contact me for access to these screenshots which may be valuable evidence.
I know that sinister speculation is more exciting than unglamorous usualness, but the tedious truth is that we don't do any of the things you're talking about. We don't want to, it wouldn't feel good, and luckily for us, none of it is necessary.
It happens particularly when an article contains sensational content that attracts a rush of quick upvotes, and then other readers see it on the front page, have a "WTF?" reaction, and flag it.
I can’t speak for the reason why users might have flagged it, but these candidates come to mind: - the OpenAI debacle was discussed and theorized in depth for days - the gist contains absolutely nothing substantial
If you look at page 20 https://news.ycombinator.com/?p=20 , you will see that even stories marked [dupe] are still retained, at around that page. Yet this story is not.
I have screenshots of every page from this quick test.
This does seem like it could be plausibly explained as an attempt to control the narrative -- market manipulation by YC -- and that that would be the type of thing you’d expect Sam to force YC to do if the allegations in this suppressed letter of Sam’s bullying are true.
If anyone YC-affiliated is using their user account (not their mod privileges, their ordinary personal user account) to flag this to suppress the story for financial gain, that could get the person behind bars. If you're reading this and you've been doing that, I suggest you unflag the post and please move on.