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Comment by slapshot | Hacker News Reader

> The HN community has always held strong beliefs about political issues, but what did we do about it?

The problem is that "the HN community" doesn't have unified beliefs about nearly anything. There are people who are violently for and against: higher taxes, lower taxes, affirmative action, race-neutrality, abortion choice, life, fracking, nuclear power, wind power, birds, etc. If we declared that we couldn't work together despite differing views we'd quickly find that we're each an island. There is no single "hacker news" political view. We are comprised of atheists, baptists, catholics, jews, muslims, sikhs, janes, buddhists, and nearly every other group you can think of. Some are rich, poor, and in the middle. Old young and retired. You are free to use your money however you want, but it is not the "HN community" view.

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> "the HN community" doesn't have unified beliefs about nearly anything

We don't need unanimity. We don't have to agree on every issue.

But we do have incredible power, because we're the ones who know how to build things and make them work. Those who would do evil depend on us to do our part.

I won't participate. I will deploy my talents and money against wars of choice, the police state and institutional theft.

We may not all agree, but the HN community is disproportionately interested in these issues, and has the ability to do something about them.

Then we'll democratically argue and fight about it, and people will cast votes for the news they want to see, which will determine what the general "mood" of the site is.

Its the bane and blessing of all social groups. As they get larger, people get exposed to / interact with lots of viewpoints that might not have originally been part of the core. To some level this is good, as it broadens horizons and enhances discussion. At the extreme, it all becomes bland, vaguely funny photos of animals (mostly cats).

Its why community generated sub-forums / sub-reddits are kind of genius / kind of crap, as they let folks go off and sub-fracture as far as they want until the discussion matches whatever their internal worldview is. Of course, then nothing challenges their internal worldview.

Unlike Democracy in real life, people who hold different ideologies from you on a website will simply leave and start their own websites.

Real Life Democracy forces you to work with your political opponents. Website Democracy forces everyone to think the same, or leave.

Website Democracy forces everyone to think the same, or leave.

If that were true then arguments on the Internet would be rare.

True arguments and debate on the internet are rather rare. Its generally a curbstomp in a single direction towards the predominant political opinion of the specific website.

For example, you've got Huffington Post vs Dredge Report. If you've ever visited the "conservative side" of the internet, you'd recognize it as totally night-and-day compared to the side that us (typically) liberal technocrats view.

Exactly right, and there's so much mental bias that comes from swimming in your own segregated pond all the time, if you're not careful about it.

I note that you did not include "starting wars," and "torture" in your list of things we all disagree on.

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