Sad to see this with the Adam Swartz post both on the front page. We need more powerful people who will voice, not for the proliferation of conspiracies, but for the right to speak ones mind on the internet. Even here on HN any attempt at putting forth the wrong opinion on the election will result in a ban. This will embolden and validate the opinions of Trump supporters. This morning, Angela Merkel voiced her own fears that censorship is going too far
Supposedly there are a lot of "really smart people" who are behind this censorship push. Certainly they have researchers at these companies who have studied human behavior and know the outcome? Certainly they know that suppressing people has an equal and opposite effect, fomenting further extremism and resistance?
So we're left with 3 potential realities: 1) the tech oligarchs are recklessly ignorant about what they're doing, 2) they're recklessly emotional about the situation and don't care about the fallout, or 3) their decisions are calculated and the push-back from the extremists is desired. All 3 are worrisome.
you have to earn it by accumulating a certain karma though contributions that are upvoted by the community. I can downvote but I can't downvote replies to me, and for some poorly understood reason, sometimes I just can't downvote even though I have not yet participated in the thread.
> Even here on HN any attempt at putting forth the wrong opinion on the election will result in a ban.
Politics are off-topic on HN.
Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic.
