zlacker

We can't pretend to maintain a strict separation between politics and tech, but this article is nothing but a direct call to specific political action. I generally hammer the flag button on that kind of thing, even when it's a good cause; I don't think HN is or should be a space for political organizing.

>>SpicyL+(OP)
This is the discussion I wanted to have, rather than being downvoted.

I actually agree with you, but given that the article was posted by mwseibel, I wanted to see what everyone's thinking was. Just because he's a significant YC partner doesn't mean he knows/has authority over HN. It's a valid discussion to have.

But what's the appropriate line? A hard line with no room for interpretation, even in significant events? Where does Coronavirus land in that then? It certainly affects tech/hacking, but it definitely is being tainted by politics and belief structures. Are the only valid articles ones that talk about remote work?

Similar thing related to civic action. Keeping politics out of HN is a good rule, but man, that line is never going to be discrete.

>>Horizo+9K
It's certainly a fuzzy line. Like I said, there's no way to wall off politics from tech - many issues we discuss are inherently political, and in many cases a blanket refusal to discuss them would also be political.

This article clearly falls over that fuzzy line. It's not a discussion, or an analysis, or an evaluation of competing claims. It's not even an attempt to persuade. It's a call to action, a set of instructions from Mr. Obama on how to accomplish the political goals he presumes readers share. I do share his goals, and his instructions sound reasonable, but I don't see HN as an appropriate venue to publish them. Not every discussion forum should turn into a political action committee when there's important politics to be done.