There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work • Hacker News Board

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#31

Post by jasonlotito » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:12 PM UTC

jakeg wrote: post #24

“Where the heck were you when the page was blank?” - Paul Butterworth Always such a bogus argument. This is what people say when they don't like your opinion but have no argument to counter, so they resort to a rhetorical that implies you have no authority on the issue. But the fact is you do not need to be a creator to criticize a creation legitimately. Sometimes specializing in just observation/criticism and not cr…

> . How it goes about that criticism and any unnecessary hostility is another issue.

No, that's the issue. Dismissing that invalidates your entire comment.

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#32

Post by dev_jim » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:14 PM UTC

Mac users care very much about design and aesthetics. I would turn this around: These developers are shitting on the platform. And sure, I will just not download that app, but these developers should be ashamed for realeasing something so ugly. Do they have no pride in their work?

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#33

Post by lovskogen » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:14 PM UTC

alex_c wrote: post #25

axod wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, I think parents/friends give blind support and encouragment. HN/peers/tech community should give complete honesty. If that means saying "That idea is terrible" so be it.

I agree, but there's a big difference between honest, polite feedback and negativity, meanness, or just good old-fashioned flaming. HN is pretty good in this respect. Reddit is still decent, though it can definitely lean towards mean. YouTube / app store reviews... forget any chance of respect.

Since the net is so wast, people feel they have to shout loud with profanity to get heard. Alot of times they are right.

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#34

Post by jessevondoom » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:14 PM UTC

I think it's an important point that constructive criticism has a positive intent and it's rarely mean-spirited. Might be hard to hear, but the critic isn't just being an asshole.

(Did have an art-school teacher who used mean similes to teach, but that was the rare exception. And he had a consistent flair for mean, so it was sort of an odd joy to behold.)

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#35

Post by mixmax » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:14 PM UTC

I generally only listen to criticism from people that have accomplished something similar to what they are criticising themselves.

There are so many negative people out there, and it's a good way to sort the wheat from the chaff. People who have been there themselves tend to only complain if there's a valid reason for doing so.

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#36

Post by axod » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:15 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #23

axod wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, I think parents/friends give blind support and encouragment. HN/peers/tech community should give complete honesty. If that means saying "That idea is terrible" so be it.

Complete honesty can be simple, direct, and if not exactly nice to hear, certainly not mean-spirited in tone. That's quite different from the style of "oh my god what a bunch of fucking idiots these guys are, ha ha ha". It's a cheap, easy way to get some laughs (see: Ted Dziuba) but I'm not really a fan.

sure, but if you're making money and having fun, other peoples opinion shouldn't really matter.

It seems to be popular at the moment to laugh at Justin Beiber online and say how much you hate him. But he's the one making millions out of teenage girls...

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#37

Post by steveklabnik » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:17 PM UTC

rgbrgb wrote: post #13

steveklabnik wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"when you don't create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability. your tastes only narrow & exclude people. so create." - _why

"when you don't critique you just make shit" - me

It's true, even in the act of creation, there has to be some selection. With that said, if you spend all of your time critiquing, you never end up building anything.

It's all in the balance...

There's also a difference between "I'm working on critique to improve my craft" and "I make a blog specifically designed to talk shit on people." You can critique in a few ways, some more abrasive than others.

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#38

Post by dustingetz » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:19 PM UTC

jzimdars wrote: post #20

jsdalton wrote: post #9

I agree that just shitting all over people's work is, well, shitty. But I disagree entirely that the anonymous critic behind Read the Fucking HIG ( http://readthefuckinghig.tumblr.com/ ) is out of line or that this kind of criticism is lacking in merit. Firstly, it's clearly a bit tongue in cheek: "The evil doctor cackled as the thunder struck his lightning rod, giving life and sentience to his unholy creation, splic…

He may be right. But he's not adding any value for anyone the way he points it out. I think the biggest problem I have with it is that he's insulting and attacking the people who made these apps. There is no reason for that.

there's at least one legitimate reason: it's getting him a ton of traffic!

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#39

Post by lovskogen » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:20 PM UTC

bane wrote: post #27

I think what rubs me the wrong way about this site is not the criticism. Criticism is ok. It's lack of proposed solutions. One thing I really enjoy is when designers take a look at some established interface and try and design a better one and put it out there for comments and ideas. That is constructive criticism in my book. example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zachklein/4831151379/

I think the proposed solution to all entries would be "Do it with the HIG in mind".

Re: There is no place for just shitting all over other people's work

#40

Post by nostromo » Tue, Jan 11, 2011, 8:21 PM UTC

jzimdars wrote: post #20

jsdalton wrote: post #9

I agree that just shitting all over people's work is, well, shitty. But I disagree entirely that the anonymous critic behind Read the Fucking HIG ( http://readthefuckinghig.tumblr.com/ ) is out of line or that this kind of criticism is lacking in merit. Firstly, it's clearly a bit tongue in cheek: "The evil doctor cackled as the thunder struck his lightning rod, giving life and sentience to his unholy creation, splic…

He may be right. But he's not adding any value for anyone the way he points it out. I think the biggest problem I have with it is that he's insulting and attacking the people who made these apps. There is no reason for that.

> he's not adding any value

The point of the blog, from what I can tell, is to make people laugh. Let's lighten up.

Honestly, if I had an app in the store and it was featured here (with a handy backlink) I'd probably send him a thank you note for the free advertising and feedback.