I have a few of these posts I've written coming out over the next few months that I want people to discuss. Would you prefer I add a disclaimer at the top? Easy enough to add
Personally, I'd say you should definitely add a disclaimer, otherwise a discussion that would likely gain traction is that the information might be being intentionally concealed.
I will add them in subsequent posts. The information is all over our site (they are on our portfolio page, and we wrote about them when we invested) but I am happy to reiterate on each post for each company
The resistance to a seemingly obvious correction seems a little shady. Expecting people to dig around a site to find out your position of financial interest is not reasonable.
Such behavior is disappointing, especially from a top HN account holder.
It's too bad, because otherwise there are some interesting ideas, but TFA is lacking in good faith.
You're nitpicking the term "journalism" here, but even in casual conversation if a friend went on and on about how great a company was and then I later found out that they:
* Got paid a referral fee if I signed up
* Owned shares in the company
* Even was roommates with the founders/CEO but failed to mention it
I would trust that person less going forward.
If you want to be perceived as trustworthy, then you shouldn't say things that you have a hidden interest in saying.
Keep in mind for what reason? The content doesn't change based on this knowledge. It either stands up for what it is or it doesn't. It wouldn't somehow be better if it were written by a random Joe user instead: It would be the exact same work. Attributing qualities of the author onto the work is a logical fallacy.
Use that precious mind space for understanding basic logic instead.
