Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> 5 Whys are used a lot of time to shift blame away > Blame isn't the goal of the document.

5 whys is a tool in root cause analysis. The point of 5 whys is to identify links where "failure would not have happened if" and not act on those.

Blame is a tool that helps dig deeper by aligning incentives. As a moderator you want to find those ifs and blame helps point the finger at perceived causes. The hard part is triage done on blame shifting to assess whether that is actually a cause or just an excuse.



Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: