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HN is weirdly silent about identity politics except for threads like these. Threads about discrimination in tech get a few dozen post, a third of which are to the tune of “does this belong on HN?” But an article about discrimination at a college with a horrific engineering program and no cachet in the tech industry gets 500 posts.

Can anyone explain why this belongs on HN or why it gets so much attention? I don’t understand it.




Possibly because commenting on those threads is a minefield, so nobody votes for them and they end up quickly forgotten.


This thread is a minefield. Any claims about discrimination on race or gender is going to ignite controversy. Why is it OK to talk about this subject despite the fact that it’s in no way relevant to tech?

Why is this on HN?


On other sites, much of the posts are fueled by indignation. That's a bit less here, and very few people are going to reply: "yeah, I know. It's a shame.", especially because that's against the rules. But it's only a possible factor.

> Why is this on HN?

Relatively many students and recently graduated under the members, more than on e.g. reddit?


These threads appear to be driven by indignation as much as anything I’ve read on reddit, hence my confusion.




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