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Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

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Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#191
post #5

"We know you come to Yahoo because of our distinct voice and unique blend of original content, aggregation and personalization." That made me lol. They should just keep their gossip columns (half the news on the front-page). The comments on those articles are always entertaining.

Yep, I came here with that same pull quote in my clipboard. "We had hoped that you would come to Yahoo because of our distinct voice and unique blend of original content, aggregation and personalization. But it turns out we don't actually have anything resembling that, so..."

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#192
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This would be a disaster of epic proportions. Tumblr has a rabid user base that's not interested in any of that and would scream bloody murder if it happened.

Does that matter? Those users aren't paying. Yahoo could very well kick 9/10ths of Tumblr's userbase off the site while retooling to make a profit from the other 10%, and it wouldn't change a single thing about their financials. To put it another way: right now, Tumblr is making no money for Yahoo. Destroying the site and its reputation to make it into something profitable is actually the sensible move, compared to j…

The users are the hard part of a social network, not the staff or the codebase. Pissing off users leaves a stench that keeps away new people.

Source: worked for a social network that died by sacrificing users for an idealized vision of what it could be.

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#193
post #175
post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a European I find the phrase "dropping an F bomb" far more offensive than the word "fuck". "Fuck" is an expletive based on a slang term for sexual intercourse. "Dropping bombs" is a violent military act that results in horribly maiming and murdering people, often including civilians. Get your priorities straight.

I'm sorry if you were offended, but "dropping a bomb" is a common idiomatic expression that has nothing to do with physical violence. It simply means, "to say something shocking or unexpected." http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/drop+a+bomb

And you find that idiom less offensive than a slang term for having sex?

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#194
post #193
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry if you were offended, but "dropping a bomb" is a common idiomatic expression that has nothing to do with physical violence. It simply means, "to say something shocking or unexpected." http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/drop+a+bomb

And you find that idiom less offensive than a slang term for having sex?

Personally I don't find either one offensive. But the word "fuck" is generally considered, at least in American culture, to be the most offensive of all expletives, while the idiom "drop a bomb" is considered completely inoffensive. In fact, it was news to me that it was considered offensive in Europe. Where in Europe do you live?

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#195
post #19
post #4

why is this on hacker news? not trying to be an ass or anything. really. it's hardly a tech company, and this is apparently not affecting whatever tech side it still have. probably just execs trying to raise any number used to calculate stock prices this week and secure whatever fat bonus they will get by end of quarter.

pg->viaweb->yahoo->pg$$$->ycombinator->hackernews

so?

should we have news about pg mom's too?

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#197

Will fantasy football get cut soon?

Yahoo! Sports is one of the verticals that is staying. I'd assume that fantasy sports is under that umbrella.

Staying where? With the holding company that has the Alibaba stock?

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#198
post #194
post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And you find that idiom less offensive than a slang term for having sex?

Personally I don't find either one offensive. But the word "fuck" is generally considered, at least in American culture, to be the most offensive of all expletives, while the idiom "drop a bomb" is considered completely inoffensive. In fact, it was news to me that it was considered offensive in Europe. Where in Europe do you live?

Germany. Maybe I should qualify by saying that I don't find "fuck" particularly offensive to begin with (American attitudes towards swearwords are strongly defined by its Puritan history).

There is a similar idiom in German ("die Bombe platzen lassen", "letting the bomb pop") but it has a different meaning (i.e. revealing shocking/surprising information) and is different from how we refer to explosions (e.g. "zünden", "detonate") making it sound more like it's describing a balloon than explosives.

I wonder why Americans consider "fuck" more offensive than other expletives, especially considering it's so widely used (and in some social contexts wouldn't raise any eyebrows at all). I guess it falls back to Puritanism again: not only is it a swearword, but it's describing a sinful act -- not simply sexual intercourse but likely sexual intercourse in a very non-Puritan way (i.e. not soberly between a married faithful couple for purely reproductive purposes).

I should also add that English swearwords in German are generally far less offensive than the German equivalents, though even then they're far more socially acceptable. I also think that the German equivalent of "fuck" as an expletive is actually borrowed from English and an artefact of the influence of English language media.

EDIT: I also find Puritanism far more appalling than any swearword or expletive.

Re: Yahoo is shutting down about half of its content verticals

#199
post #198
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I don't find either one offensive. But the word "fuck" is generally considered, at least in American culture, to be the most offensive of all expletives, while the idiom "drop a bomb" is considered completely inoffensive. In fact, it was news to me that it was considered offensive in Europe. Where in Europe do you live?

Germany. Maybe I should qualify by saying that I don't find "fuck" particularly offensive to begin with (American attitudes towards swearwords are strongly defined by its Puritan history). There is a similar idiom in German ("die Bombe platzen lassen", "letting the bomb pop") but it has a different meaning (i.e. revealing shocking/surprising information) and is different from how we refer to explosions (e.g. "zünden"…

> Germany.

Heh, I was born in Juelich. But I've lived in the U.S. since I was 5 so I'm culturally American.

> I guess it falls back to Puritanism again

Yep, pretty much.

> I also find Puritanism far more appalling than any swearword or expletive.

I can't really argue with you about that. Nonetheless, I think it's important to be judicious in one's choice of occasions to break societal norms, even when those norms aren't rational.

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