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Ask HN: Please stop "This."

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Re: Ask HN: Please stop "This."

#51

Post by wickedchicken »

rubikscube wrote: post #27

It's better to use grammatically correct and conventionally accepted statements. Beginning a response with "I agree" or "Good point" reads pleasantly, without the nails-on-chalkboard effect of the internet-nerd-herd-mind irritating-and-head-scratching-to-regular-people nerd-convention of "This". Stupid nerds. They seem to like to demonstrate how "non-conforming" they are, but reading sites like this, or worse, reddit…

I think this points to why I dislike "this": it doesn't flow in a normal conversation. Imagine talking to someone in person and responding to a point by stating "this." You use "this" to show people something they hadn't noticed before, not something they just said.

Re: Ask HN: Please stop "This."

#52

Post by ccollins »

Thank you for bringing this up! Like you, I vehemently recoil when I spot a "This." in the wild.

To me, "This." == "I am incapable of formulating my own thoughts and therefore choose to fully agree with whatever that guy above me just said."

Re: Ask HN: Please stop "This."

#53

Post by juiceandjuice »

stevelosh wrote: post #21

Are you bothered if someone starts a post with "I completely agree with you."? If so, I think that's strange. Why would that bother you? They're giving you an idea of what their comment will be like up front to help you understand it more easily. If not, they why does it bother you when they say essentially the same thing with four fewer words? It's totally fine to be annoyed by a comment that doesn't add anything or…

"Whatever the cause, stupid comments tend to be short." - pg [1]

I feel like, whatever the cause, comments that tend to start with "This." tend to be follow this pattern as well. It's not always the case, which is why I'd urge people to not use "This." when starting a sentence. I also feel like "This." hangs there to evoke a vote of karma, irrespective of comment content much more than "I completely agree with you" would, especially with people who frequent reddit.

[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html

Re: Ask HN: Please stop "This."

#54

Post by MartinCron »

mindcrime wrote: post #49
MartinCron wrote: post #46

I wonder if this is a generational divide, I assume that it's something that gets under my skin because I'm an old guy (35! Gasp!) and I frown on people using my language in a way that diverges from how I've always used it. It feels like a sort of Internet-speak affectation (something I know a thing or two about) that wouldn't show up in spoken language or other forms of written language. I can see how that would bug…

I wonder if this is a generational divide, I assume that it's something that gets under my skin because I'm an old guy (35! Gasp!) I doubt age has anything to do with it. I'm 38, but I don't dislike the "this" thing much at all. In fact, I do it myself sometimes. and I frown on people using my language in a way that diverges from how I've always used it. See, I'm the kind of person who likes doing things differently,…

"We've always done it this way" is a terrible justification for the status quo. Absolutely.

To me, it's more like "if you use words in a way that diverges from what people can reasonably expect, nobody can understand what the fuck you're saying"

Re: Ask HN: Please stop "This."

#56

Post by kin »

In my opinion it's just a commonly used term in which I subconsciously process as something else. Whenever I read a reply that begins with "This." I instead hear "I couldn't agree with you more." Typically, the comment doesn't stop there and the author would elaborate as to why he or she agrees.

Do you just stop reading the comment at the point of "This."? Oftentimes, the reason justifies use of the word.

Re: Ask HN: Please stop "This."

#57

Post by jrockway »

juiceandjuice wrote: post #53
stevelosh wrote: post #21

Are you bothered if someone starts a post with "I completely agree with you."? If so, I think that's strange. Why would that bother you? They're giving you an idea of what their comment will be like up front to help you understand it more easily. If not, they why does it bother you when they say essentially the same thing with four fewer words? It's totally fine to be annoyed by a comment that doesn't add anything or…

"Whatever the cause, stupid comments tend to be short." - pg [1] I feel like, whatever the cause, comments that tend to start with "This." tend to be follow this pattern as well. It's not always the case, which is why I'd urge people to not use "This." when starting a sentence. I also feel like "This." hangs there to evoke a vote of karma, irrespective of comment content much more than "I completely agree with you" w…

Incidentally, "stupid comments tend to be short" is a short comment.

Re: Ask HN: Please stop "This."

#58

Post by jrockway »

TillE wrote: post #45

Can we also stop "fail" as a one-word sentence? I'd appreciate it. I've stopped participating in any site where the usage of internet memes is anything above negligible. Reading that crap actually makes me feel stupider.

That's a shame.

Re: Ask HN: Please stop "This."

#60

Post by MaysonL »

juiceandjuice wrote: post #53
stevelosh wrote: post #21

Are you bothered if someone starts a post with "I completely agree with you."? If so, I think that's strange. Why would that bother you? They're giving you an idea of what their comment will be like up front to help you understand it more easily. If not, they why does it bother you when they say essentially the same thing with four fewer words? It's totally fine to be annoyed by a comment that doesn't add anything or…

"Whatever the cause, stupid comments tend to be short." - pg [1] I feel like, whatever the cause, comments that tend to start with "This." tend to be follow this pattern as well. It's not always the case, which is why I'd urge people to not use "This." when starting a sentence. I also feel like "This." hangs there to evoke a vote of karma, irrespective of comment content much more than "I completely agree with you" w…

"Whatever the cause, stupid comments tend to be short." does not imply "Short comments are stupid".
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