Yes, some users upvoted it and other users flagged it. The flags greatly outweighed the upvotes, and that represents the community verdict on the topic. This is how HN's system has always worked. There is no evidence of abuse, and the comments users posted, disagreeing that the story was serious, are clear evidence of what the bulk of the community thinks of it.
Indignation posts routinely get lots of upvotes. That's a weakness of the upvoting system, not evidence of a good submission. This is one of the reasons why HN needs flags in the first place.
Since this whole discussion is a non-story—HN working the way it has worked for over ten years—I don't think further comments are likely to add anything new.
Indignation posts routinely get lots of upvotes. That's a weakness of the upvoting system, not evidence of a good submission. This is one of the reasons why HN needs flags in the first place.
Since this whole discussion is a non-story—HN working the way it has worked for over ten years—I don't think further comments are likely to add anything new.