Unpopular opinion: I hold /pol/ and rest of 4chan in higher regard than most of the internet precisely because the lack of filtering allows a lot of quality content to come through that would otherwise be silenced, and it's on you, the reader, to make up your mind and do your own research, rather than be told what to think and read through downvote/thoughtpurging mechanisms that websites, such as HN, embrace.

4chan has a handful of good boards on there that are not filled with racist diatribe. You're going to find content on there long before it hits anywhere else - if it hits anywhere else to begin with. Even /pol/ itself, prior to the 2016 election, had plenty of interesting discussion. Hopefully once this drama blows over it will return to a more nuanced place. As for Vice trying to paint /pol/ as this ultra-edgy super radical place, I can't help but laugh at how hard they're trying. It's a board full of early 20-something year old shitposters. Give up the nonsense RWDS-tier fearmongering please.

See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6747373, which is as valid today as it was back then. Replace whatever tech with "Rust", and read through the last three days worth of self-aggrandizing submissions.

Here's the first one: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6747373

Some really good ones in there.

I've been saving interesting threads and comments in my favorites (they are in my profile). Many old-timers are surprised that Hacker News has a favorite feature. Comments are tricky: to favorite a comment you need to first show its details by clicking on the timestamp.

Now, for the links. A lot of freelancing and consulting advice threads have a good discussion and stories from the trenches:

Starting as a consultant - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21189801

Getting paid - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4817193

Common mistakes - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21728436

Lessons learned from a veteran developer - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25658216

Branding and marketing - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23282278

Hiring a personal assistant - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29336234

Other pretty cool and fun threads:

Crowdsourced HN book recommendations: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28595967

Product recommendations from HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29353980

What 4chan thinks of HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6747373