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Ask HN: How Many of You Are Like Me?

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Re: Ask HN: How Many of You Are Like Me?

#14
post #6

lol - you're not alone ;]. see, i'm here for 800 days now but stopped commenting on most of the threads long ago when I realized that my views are somewhat diametrically different and would not be accepted easily by those so more wise and better connected than my dumb self. they installed a nice feedback mechanism that effectively limits my input - whenever I post something I must fear ridiculous downvoting by those…

You'd have better success if you showed some respect for your readers by capitalizing and writing your posts in a normal style. Starting off with "lol" and an emoticon marks you as somebody who hasn't thought about what he is about to write, and who doesn't care to present his thoughts to the reader in an organized manner. In your comment history, other posts have it worse, and your writing style and mannerisms make you seem like a nut-case. If your comments were written using normal sentences, that would not be the case. However, if you're talking about "higher privileged clergy folks" downvoting you, writing style won't help much on that front.

Re: Ask HN: How Many of You Are Like Me?

#15
I try to comment when I have something of value to add, that has not already been contributed. Mostly information. To a self-imposed limited extend, a bit of anecdote and/or humor. [1] The latter usually only in accompaniment to information.

I support the original attitude that pervaded HN, that karma is about surfacing interesting information. It's not personal, nor should it be.

Personal relationships do develop here, but not as a direct function of karma (I'm sure karma plays some role, inevitably, due to visibility and so discovery.)

In short, what would the other person want to know? (That's "want", not "should", the latter being a slippery slope.) Keeping in mind the composition and goals of the community, this makes participating pretty straight forward.

--

1 Maybe I've been veering too far in this direction, lately.

Re: Ask HN: How Many of You Are Like Me?

#16
post #6

lol - you're not alone ;]. see, i'm here for 800 days now but stopped commenting on most of the threads long ago when I realized that my views are somewhat diametrically different and would not be accepted easily by those so more wise and better connected than my dumb self. they installed a nice feedback mechanism that effectively limits my input - whenever I post something I must fear ridiculous downvoting by those…

You'd have better success if you showed some respect for your readers by capitalizing and writing your posts in a normal style. Starting off with "lol" and an emoticon marks you as somebody who hasn't thought about what he is about to write, and who doesn't care to present his thoughts to the reader in an organized manner. In your comment history, other posts have it worse, and your writing style and mannerisms make…

At first I wanted to say true dat. I am now going to say, True that.

Re: Ask HN: How Many of You Are Like Me?

#17
post #6

lol - you're not alone ;]. see, i'm here for 800 days now but stopped commenting on most of the threads long ago when I realized that my views are somewhat diametrically different and would not be accepted easily by those so more wise and better connected than my dumb self. they installed a nice feedback mechanism that effectively limits my input - whenever I post something I must fear ridiculous downvoting by those…

You'd have better success if you showed some respect for your readers by capitalizing and writing your posts in a normal style. Starting off with "lol" and an emoticon marks you as somebody who hasn't thought about what he is about to write, and who doesn't care to present his thoughts to the reader in an organized manner. In your comment history, other posts have it worse, and your writing style and mannerisms make…

English is nothing more than another vehicle humans use to communicate. For you to claim using proper grammar and well formed sentences of the english language is just a cop out to the point the OP was trying to make. Let me paraphrase in a grammar that is perhaps closer to on par with the level you seek:

"I have spent a long time on hacker news. In fact I used to communicate with others on a regular basis but that ceased awhile ago. My views are probably considered extreme to most in the community and thus I chose not to comment due to the "instant karma" I would receive based on my view that the community would most likely as a whole disagree with. Additionally, I know some who are much more intelligent than myself and yet they never comment. They merely troll (troll is a non-negative attribute here) the site soaking up information and leaving nothing in return. "

My opinion: the community is here to get down to business. Humor is pushed aside in most cases and discussions focus much more on the topic at hand. (No I am not claiming hacker news users do not have a sense of humor, I am trying to say that this community is driven by information and not jokes.) For those who would like this clarified: If you want jokes, digg, reddit, etc all exist, if you want information and perhaps a chance to learn a thing or two than hacker news is for you.

Personally, this is why I regularly browse the site. I view hacker news as a geek's fantasy show and tell.

Re: Ask HN: How Many of You Are Like Me?

#18
post #6

lol - you're not alone ;]. see, i'm here for 800 days now but stopped commenting on most of the threads long ago when I realized that my views are somewhat diametrically different and would not be accepted easily by those so more wise and better connected than my dumb self. they installed a nice feedback mechanism that effectively limits my input - whenever I post something I must fear ridiculous downvoting by those…

I'm not even a programmer (writer who programs from time to time) and have gotten into extended (and karma-filled) discussions with people who make my little AAS degree look like a toy.

I think you might have misdiagnosed the problem.

Re: Ask HN: How Many of You Are Like Me?

#19
post #8
post #6

lol - you're not alone ;]. see, i'm here for 800 days now but stopped commenting on most of the threads long ago when I realized that my views are somewhat diametrically different and would not be accepted easily by those so more wise and better connected than my dumb self. they installed a nice feedback mechanism that effectively limits my input - whenever I post something I must fear ridiculous downvoting by those…

I'm a former homemaker and the only coding I know is a little (x)html and css, so I am very much a demographic outlier for this forum. Plus, my views tend to not quite fit in anywhere I go. Prompt feedback, like votes and comments, can be a mechanism for honing your communication skills. Presentation can go a long way towards making it palatable to express an opposing point of view. You probably won't get a lot of up…

fortunately this is not a strict coders' forum as far as i'm concerned - i appreciate all kinds of people with varying experience from diverse sectors, after all this is what information exchange is about, and more variance adds to a broader and more objective view, lots of fun and more information (and entropy for that matter). in fact i don't even believe there is a specific topic other than things that are obviously very interesting to a certain group of people. as for my communication skills - i think i have none, and despite my earlier statement being more a lame excuse for my lazyness to communicate, I'm kind of proud of being disconnected and I somewhat aim for provocations, since all I care about is rationally and deliberately looking at things from a different and unique perspective, since i believe this kind of contribution to be of value, even if it might appear naive or if i'm slashing the common ground or if i don't point out purpose. but since english is not my native tongue I'm not really successful at communicating sarcasm in a rhetorical way. so please don't vote for me since i'm not used to that :p.

Re: Ask HN: How Many of You Are Like Me?

#20

I think there is a lot of people who just lurk around and read everything, that is ok, but if you participate in discussion I think you will definitely learn a lot more. Google cone of learning.

"Google cone of learning." I am not familiar with this phrase. Can someone explain?
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