Comment by dang

I think that's fair and of course I know that many people would make the individual moderation calls differently than we do, and be just as 'right' as we are. At the specific-data-point level, we're talking about judgment calls and guesswork, and there is inevitably some arbitrariness there. Consistency at that level is not possible.

On the other hand, a thoughtful pg essay and a sensational 3-second video clip of the most trollicious person on the internet are pretty different on (let's call it) the genre spectrum, and that's an important consideration for HN moderation too.

As inconsistent and arbitrary as individual moderation calls may feel or be, though, the principles of HN moderation have been surprisingly consistent over the years, and that's the more important level. We don't always apply them correctly or consistently, but I think the principles themselves are good ones for this site and are easily defensible. Most of what I do in moderation comments like this is try to explain those principles, though usually the commenters are concerned about one particular story, at least in the moment.