Every YouTube creator has to do this now as well. They "apologize in advance" or qualify just about everything they say to make sure they don't get eviscerated in comments in case they make a mistake or were even just slightly wrong. It's becoming so common, I see it seeping into every day conversation in younger (like 13yo) kids. Not that everyone should go around spouting ignorant opinion, but being terrified of being incorrect isn't good either.
The internet has made defensive writers of us all
41–50 of 186 posts
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#42Another possibility is that the writer doesn't actually know if something is certain or not.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#43I am fairly new to Y-Combinators Hacker News. Unfortunately, I've run head-long into this very issue on this forum. It ruins the experience.
There is value in communicating figuratively and/or with metaphors. When creatively solving problems, looking for trends or drawing a hypothesis out of the ether, it is often desirable to avoid specifics.
In my opinion, one's inability to comprehend and respond to any given statement at multiple levels limits their upward mobility.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Excuse my ignorance but do Asians "count" as people of color? I thought that usually referred to Latinos and African Americans? I know that university admissions PoC don't include Asians, in fact most admissions standards are stacked against them.
Yes, I am a person of color. The dictionary definition of people of color is any non whites. Edit: There is a long explanation of why Asians are sometimes excluded. The short answer is racism against Asians.
It sounds like you're saying it's fine to be racist against whites, but offensive to do the same thing to your personal "in-group." Little ironic, lol.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#45The way I see it, defensive writing is also a kind of self-indulgent, narcissistic behaviour which seeks gratification from always being "correct" and never being proven "wrong". It requires a certain dose of humility to admit that something you've said was wrong or to accept some parts of the opponent's opinion.
What if you don't know something for certain? Isn't some discretion needed? Humility is being open the possibility of being wrong.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#46I feel compelled to write about race issues because I am a person of color. The issues directly impact my life. But I'm afraid because readers might be pissed off enough to get me fired. :/
Colored person here as well. I'd advise you to discuss these matters under an assumed name. Discussing them on a public forum (such as a company blog) is generally a bad idea (if you want to keep your job). Of course you can go full militant but you have to understand the risks. Personally, I need to pay the bills right now, but as soon as I accumulate some F* U money, it's on :)
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#47The way I see it, defensive writing is also a kind of self-indulgent, narcissistic behaviour which seeks gratification from always being "correct" and never being proven "wrong". It requires a certain dose of humility to admit that something you've said was wrong or to accept some parts of the opponent's opinion.
What if you don't know something for certain? Isn't some discretion needed? Humility is being open the possibility of being wrong.
One could say "correct me if I'm wrong" and continue with his thoughts instead of precluding the possibility for outlining an interesting point of view because of a small uncertainty.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, I am a person of color. The dictionary definition of people of color is any non whites. Edit: There is a long explanation of why Asians are sometimes excluded. The short answer is racism against Asians.
It sounds like you're saying it's fine to be racist against whites, but offensive to do the same thing to your personal "in-group." Little ironic, lol.
You're doing the exact thing that WalterBright complained about above (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10859674). Of course that is not what the poster meant.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Excuse my ignorance but do Asians "count" as people of color? I thought that usually referred to Latinos and African Americans? I know that university admissions PoC don't include Asians, in fact most admissions standards are stacked against them.
Yes, I am a person of color. The dictionary definition of people of color is any non whites. Edit: There is a long explanation of why Asians are sometimes excluded. The short answer is racism against Asians.
Asians haven't faced horrible racism in the US? Asians have and still do face racism in the states.
Re: The internet has made defensive writers of us all
#50In regards to hedges and weasel words: I never used more weasel words and hedges than when I sold computers at Circuit City. I knew what the policies should be and how we should be able to help customers, but I had no power to actually make that happen so I used tons of should, may, probably, likely, etc.
I hated it and it took me a while to unlearn that way of talking.