It’s part of what makes HN great.
If tech is influencing politics and consequently, all of us, why should there be an asymmetry when the tech plebs want to talk politics?
What tech connected leaders really hate is the plebs being informed and having an opinion on policy. I see the same thing with the All-In podcast. All round glee on that podcast with things that negatively impact the working classes.
Billionaires are for billionaires while controlling the media.
I guess this is because on classic media, you have limited slots for sending - on social media, everybody can broadcast (youtubes slogan was "broadcast yourself", IIRC, for a long time?)
This allows those shows to be produced at nearly minimum costs - and since this is content is viewed by a lot of people, the creators see that "inviting the next rich guy" drives traffic & clicks, Id say?
it's uh pretty confronting!
i.e, on or off topic hasn't been the deciding factor on that for some time now. Pretty sure the rules even state that it's about "what people find interesting".
Seeing the support from the previous SV "rebels" for the demolition of US's institutions is interesting.
A lot of people in tech today think politics is something “other” to tech. It’s the same kind of “we just make the thing, how it’s used, by whom, for what, and why is someone else’s problem” that pervades the likes of Meta Platforms Inc. With today’s technology industry, thinking like that is naive at best.
The worst of the worst tech bros and their earlier investors (like Marc A) created and have tried hard to spread that idea around. The goal is to keep politics out of the tech workforce so that they can meddle in politics without fighting multiple fronts.
You’re not supposed to say that though, for that’s saying the quiet part out loud. The sad thing is how many people buy it hook line and sinker.
Which isn’t to say you’re somehow wrong for wanting a safe space away from political discourse. It’s important not to forget how empowering silence and ignorance are to causes that typically undermine the rights of the populace.
There’s a small print to that and we know that “some” politics is off topic.
Or else I should not be seeing lots of criticism on the front page when the current US president does something that negatively affects the tech or AI industry.
What often happens to not understanding how NH works is conspiracy theorising. I note that the user account age who submitted this question is only a year or so old which might indicate a gap in understanding how this place works.
Dang has a number of comments (find them using the search below) explaining all this better than I can :)