Comment by shkkmo
1 year ago
In my experience HN does have biases, but many of them can be very dependent on time of day, topic or article. Sometimes you'll see one bias in a new thread but by the end of the day it will have reversed.
"Backchannel" means something different from the way you are using it here.
My understanding of 'backchannel' in this context is that when a comment or post provokes a certain group within this forum, they have a method to influence the moderation. This is done through the backchannel by flagging the comment and then guiding people on appropriate or inappropriate behavior beyond the main discussion.
Isn't this flagged thread a backchannel?
Voting isn't an alternative method, it's a primary signal.