Can you please explain? Because I've reviewed those rules and I don't understand where I fell on the wrong side of them.

Should I not call Chinese propagandists as I see them?

Insinuating astroturfing or shillage without evidence is explicitly against the guidelines, so no you should definitely not do that. Please hold the snark, as well.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Labeling someone a "propagandist" just because they have an opposing view to yours is abusive—and one of the most poisonous tropes on the internet. Doing that because someone articulated a Chinese view in non-native English adds a nasty xenophobic twist. We're here to listen respectfully to each other, not attack others when they differ—even when you know they're obviously wrong, or believe you do.

I've written a ton about this on HN—e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16928460, and lots more at https://hn.algolia.com/?amp;sort=byDate&dateRange=all&am....

Eh, I give up.

I disagree with you wholly and completely.

Tired of seeing people on the internet defend obvious propaganda

If you have evidence that someone is astroturfing, please email us with it ([email protected]) so we can investigate. When we do find it, we act pretty severely.

If you don't have evidence, though, please stick to the guidelines and refrain from slinging accusations. Someone having an opposite view to yours does not count as evidence.