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New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

marginalia.nu

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Re: New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

#341

Post by mike_hearn »

mrandish wrote: post #272

Prior to the rise of LLM-written posts and the natural reaction of hair-trigger suspicion, I used to em and en dash fairly often in posts on HN. No reason really other than being a bit of a typography geek who happens to have always used dashes in casual writing instead of semicolons. So when I was setting up a modifier-key keyboard layer with AHK many years ago I put the em dash on modifier+dash just because I could…

Have the same problem but with bullet points, which I learned to type years ago and have used on HN for a long time:

• Like

• This

(option-8 on a Mac US keyboard layout). Now it looks like something only an LLM would do.

Re: New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

#342

Post by AlecSchueler »

mrandish wrote: post #272

Prior to the rise of LLM-written posts and the natural reaction of hair-trigger suspicion, I used to em and en dash fairly often in posts on HN. No reason really other than being a bit of a typography geek who happens to have always used dashes in casual writing instead of semicolons. So when I was setting up a modifier-key keyboard layer with AHK many years ago I put the em dash on modifier+dash just because I could…

Fwiw your comment has lots of human tells and doesn't seem AI generated at all.

Re: New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

#343

Post by zug_zug »

mikenew wrote: post #326

This feels like an existential threat to HN, and to the general concept of anonymous online discourse. Trust in the platform is foundational, and without it the whole thing falls down. Requiring proof of identity is the only solution I can think of, despite how unappealing it is. And even then, you'll still have people handing their account over to an LLM. I really struggle to imagine a way around it. It could be tha…

I don't think that's true at all.

One of the things HN does is not let you interact in certain ways until you've earned sufficient karma. This is a basic proof-of-work. If your bot can't average a positive karma, then it'll never get certain privileges.

Not to say the system is perfectly tuned for bots, because it's not. The point is that proof of identity is not the only option.

Re: New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

#344

Post by mike_hearn »

hsbauauvhabzb wrote: post #337
marginalia_nu wrote: post #157

Fwiw I did some more comparisons, looking for words disproportionately favored by noob comments: word noob new p-value ---------------------------- ai 14.93% 7.87% p=0.00016 actually 12.53% 5.34% p=1.1e-05 code 11.47% 6.04% p=0.00081 real 10.93% 2.95% p=2.6e-08 built 10.93% 2.11% p=2.1e-10 data 8.93% 3.51% p=6.1e-05 tools 7.6% 2.67% p=5.5e-05 agent 7.47% 2.95% p=0.00024 app 7.2% 3.09% p=0.00078 tool 6.8% 1.83% p=8.5e…

Can you articulate on the column meanings more? Noob new means nothing to me.

Maybe that means you're a net newbie (noobie, noob).

noob = new user

new = I think this might be a mistake? Surely noob should be compared to olds

p-value = a statistical measure of confidence. In academic science a value < 0.05 is considered "statistically significant".

Re: New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

#345

Post by acheron »

bigyabai wrote: post #139
dang wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just do it anyway—I always have, and always will. Well, I haven't always —just for maybe 20 years.

In a lot of ways, it feels like this is simply a fight for recognition that the Mac keyboard supports emdashes. This wouldn't be an issue if mobile users or Windows users were exercising it too, but it's just Mac owners and LLMs. And Mac owners are probably the minority of instances where it is used.

It works on mobile iOS too. Either the hold down - or just typing -- and letting it autocorrect will work.

Re: New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

#346

Post by crooked-v »

3rodents wrote: post #265
Lerc wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worth remembering that you can argue that the use of the word is acceptable now, but can you guarantee that in 30 years time the future world will agree with you to the extent that they let you hold a position of responsibility after using the word 30 years ago. There is precedent here.

The reason we look harshly on past word usage is because of what it represents. The use of slurs 30 years ago isn’t a problem because of the word but because it suggests an association with a specific behavior. If you look back to the 90s and see someone using a racist slur, you fill in the gaps and assume they were using it because they were racist. Will people in 30 years look back to today and judge those who show…

LLMs aren't "a group" (implied: "of people"), they're nonsapient software.

Re: New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

#348

Post by neom »

mikenew wrote: post #326

This feels like an existential threat to HN, and to the general concept of anonymous online discourse. Trust in the platform is foundational, and without it the whole thing falls down. Requiring proof of identity is the only solution I can think of, despite how unappealing it is. And even then, you'll still have people handing their account over to an LLM. I really struggle to imagine a way around it. It could be tha…

I don't feel like using HN anymore, I hope the just add invites, last time I said this someone replied it's just the same as some other site then, but it's not... hn is hn...this situation is really bumming me out.

Re: New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

#349

Post by xdennis »

mroche wrote: post #134
basch wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

are there really places that a comma, super-comma; or (parenthesis) dont work roughly as well? I find the em-dash mildly abhorrent, even before this all.

> super-comma This is the first time I've ever heard the character ";" referred to as such. It's always been "semi-colon" to me, is this a region/culture difference? I'm not saying you're wrong, I find it interesting.

> super-comma

I would have assumed it's a synonym for apostrophe. super-comma upper-comma, with super meaning upper, like in superscript.

Re: New accounts on HN more likely to use em-dashes

#350

Post by [deleted] »

Lerc wrote: post #234
stronglikedan wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

great repo name!

It's worth remembering that you can argue that the use of the word is acceptable now, but can you guarantee that in 30 years time the future world will agree with you to the extent that they let you hold a position of responsibility after using the word 30 years ago. There is precedent here.

[deleted]
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