Comment by aspenmayer
1 year ago
dang, is there any way to pre-emptively/proactively block the apps mentioned in this article and ones like it from parsing content on HN? I have no reason to believe that they’re being used here, but it would be nice to know that content posted here is not being targeted by coordinated inauthentic behavior.
I think these apps just post links to the content they target for mass flagging. Individual users still use their personal accounts to access the content. I don't think there would be anything distinctive about the traffic other than a lot of it originating in Israel.
Perhaps you’re correct. If the apps allow you to input/select content for parsing, then the admins/mods can do some tests/dryruns to see what is happening on the backend and block it, and nothing of value would be lost as far as HN and its guidelines are concerned. HN doesn’t allow bots or novelty accounts, and this kind of posting behavior as mentioned in OP is actively moderated against for breaking the guidelines of HN, so it doesn’t hurt to ask. The sites mentioned in OP may also have a way to request to not be used on domains that you own, as well.