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Nerds, we need to have a talk (2011)

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Re: Nerds, we need to have a talk (2011)

#32

Post by skrebbel »

Seriously, America is going to drown in shoulder-patting and hooray cheering. This taboo on negative opinions is ridiculous. We're teaching entire generations that we cannot fail as long as we try hard enough, and that it's the attempt that counts. Seriously, screw that.

It is a vital skill to be able to filter through feedback, take the useful parts to heart, and shrug about low, nasty, useless comments. To learn from mistakes and do better next time. Why is that bad?

Sure, we should attempt to stop the low/nasty/useless feedback, but that's not so clear cut as we'd like it to be. Until we figure out a clear line, I'd prefer honest (and sometimes nasty) feedback over a culture of non-stop shoulder patting.

Re: Nerds, we need to have a talk (2011)

#33

Post by randomdata »

akoncius wrote: post #3
jayflux wrote: post #2

You can't really compare skate-boarding critics to 'nerds' behind a screen. For 1, the reason we have so much of this is because of the anonymity of it all. It's quite easy to criticise others in an abusive manner when nobody/barely anybody knows who you are. In real life that wouldn't happen to such a degree.

but why this is happening? why people have that trait of behaving like this when they are confident about anonymity? probably it's consequence of problems in teenage-hood, or something. and adding to this topic, i'm also curious about reasons why people are 'trolling', especially when their 'trolling' is offensive, angry. and i have no clue what causes that behavior..

Is it anonymity, or is it the venue? As I type this I do not particularly feel like I am talking directly to you, rather leaving a mark for future readers to stumble upon, so to speak, under the context you have set.

I am thinking about what other people would want to read, not how you personally might feel about what I say. I expect that leads to things said that would not be said if I were speaking directly to you, such as in an email, for instance.

I don't know if that fully explains offensive and angry posts, but that could simply be a matter of someone having a bad day and wanting the world to know it.

Re: Nerds, we need to have a talk (2011)

#34

Post by pessimizer »

skrebbel wrote: post #32

Seriously, America is going to drown in shoulder-patting and hooray cheering. This taboo on negative opinions is ridiculous. We're teaching entire generations that we cannot fail as long as we try hard enough, and that it's the attempt that counts. Seriously, screw that. It is a vital skill to be able to filter through feedback, take the useful parts to heart, and shrug about low, nasty, useless comments. To learn fr…

Like when the housing bubble popped and the market crashed; the first response: "Ban shorting!"

Re: Nerds, we need to have a talk (2011)

#36

Post by mtowle »

jradakov wrote: post #26
shinykitten wrote: post #4

Honestly I can't relate to this at all. Most of the people I work with (professionally and personally) are perpetually self-critical despite being very intelligent and more than capable. The humility comes from growth over time and being able to remember doing work they'd consider terribly flawed today. If you're working with arrogant people, they're probably not growing and it'll make it harder for you to as well.

I took it to be more about nerds online. I haven't met too many people face to face that are even a tenth as rude as 90% of the people I see online. Of course, I arbitrarily picked those numbers. I'm going to point that out before I get flamed.

Damn, we were shooting for 20x as rude - algorithm must be on the fritz again. Have you been going online less frequently as of late?

Your input matters to us! botbully.JoSh uses your grievances to better pinpoint and exploit your areas of weakness over time.

Re: Nerds, we need to have a talk (2011)

#38

Post by pessimizer »

methehack wrote: post #9

I'm glad the OP brought this up and I think its an important topic for the HN 'community'. Innovation loves support. When innovation is supported, you get more innovation. On several occasions, I've seen a poor soul post a project on here that represents a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. There will be enthusiastic support, constructive criticism, and often too many haters. I'd love it if the haters left -- maybe all…

>Innovation loves support. When innovation is supported, you get more innovation.

The same thing can be said for mediocrity and outright regressions.

>people say things in online commentary that they wouldn't say face to face.

This is definitely often true, but not usually. I'm nicer online than I am in person, because in person I can smile, apologize, and make goofy faces to blunt honest criticism. Online, all I have is smileys and exclamation points, which make you read like a wide-eyed idiot, but don't always make you read like a nice wide-eyed idiot:)

Re: Nerds, we need to have a talk (2011)

#39

Post by RougeFemme »

jradakov wrote: post #26
shinykitten wrote: post #4

Honestly I can't relate to this at all. Most of the people I work with (professionally and personally) are perpetually self-critical despite being very intelligent and more than capable. The humility comes from growth over time and being able to remember doing work they'd consider terribly flawed today. If you're working with arrogant people, they're probably not growing and it'll make it harder for you to as well.

I took it to be more about nerds online. I haven't met too many people face to face that are even a tenth as rude as 90% of the people I see online. Of course, I arbitrarily picked those numbers. I'm going to point that out before I get flamed.

Louis CK touched upon this in his "Oh MY God" show on HBO. Empirically speaking, people tend to act with less accountability when they're inside of cars, behind protective barriers, including the internet.
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