Because comments are like chain links: the strength of the best is limited by the worst.
(Facetious, obviously; while I disagree with your parent comment because Google has far too little influence in China to effect any change, a response declaring the whole of HN rotten is nothing more than a non sequitur; "Good riddance!" I say.)
while I disagree with your parent comment because Google has far too little influence in China to effect any change
Ah, now that's a good argument! That's the argument I'll probably make against myself when I'm less caught up in libertarian fervour. A sober cost-benefit analysis may reveal that google can't possibly do enough to hasten the downfall of the Chinese regime to make it worthwhile. Still, we have yet to consider the question of what they could actually do. Email every Chinese citizen? Fly the Goo-Jet over Chinese airspace dragging a banner? Radio transmissions across the border? Who knows? Can't do a cost-benefit analysis until you've thought through strategy. What is the best way to spend, say, a billion dollars in order to bring down a regime?
(Facetious, obviously; while I disagree with your parent comment because Google has far too little influence in China to effect any change, a response declaring the whole of HN rotten is nothing more than a non sequitur; "Good riddance!" I say.)