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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

#511

Post by verdverm »

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…

There are a couple of extra steps to be made to get to the root of it (openclaw)

How many new accounts are submitting github links as their first post?

How many new accounts include a first comment that is copied from the other side of the link?

Look at the timings between first commit, last commit, and account creation. Many happen in quick succession and in this order. Fastest I've seen so far is 25m from first commit to first post on HN, with account creation in between.

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

#512

Post by spartanatreyu »

meindnoch wrote: post #62

Anyone have a lobste.rs invite?

I've been lurking there for years and still don't have one.

Sometimes I'd like to correct misinformation about something niche that I happen to be over-knowledgable about, or drop a 1-5 line code fix for the very thing they're talking about.

But if the cost of me getting that commenting access is also lowering the threshold needed for anyone (or anything) to comment, I'd rather keep the threshold high.

A good chunk of users on lobste.rs are bloggers, so if they get something not quite right, I can just contact them through their blog anyway.

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

#513

Post by kcexn »

marssaxman wrote: post #301
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…

My teenager recently asked me why I write like a chatbot, apparently unaware that some human beings prefer to write in complete sentences with attention to details like spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization, and that LLMs were trained on this sort of writing. This makes me think of the fad where people on youtube will hold a microphone up in frame, because it somehow connotes authenticity. I'm sure some…

I can imagine a future where writing that is considered sloppy today is considered good because of LLMs.

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

#514

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

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

#515

Post by dredmorbius »

epistasis wrote: post #261
d4mi3n wrote: post #50

I'm still salty that I can't use em-dashes anymore for fear of my writing being flagged as AI generated. Been using them for years—it's just `alt+shift+-` on a Mac keyboard and I find them more legible in many fonts compared to the simple dash on the typical numpad. It's so sad to me that good typographical conventions have been co-opted by the zeitgeist of LLMs.

My thoughts exactly. As somebody who has always loved to use em-dashes and bulleted lists to organize my thoughts, this is heartbreaking. It's like being named Michael Bolton and watching a singer rise in fame named Michael Bolton. Why should I change my style?

Or an exceedingly principled and well-respected award-winning journalist named "Alex Jones":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_S._Jones>

(No, not that one.)

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

#516

Post by terandle »

ASalazarMX wrote: post #445
marssaxman wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My teenager recently asked me why I write like a chatbot, apparently unaware that some human beings prefer to write in complete sentences with attention to details like spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization, and that LLMs were trained on this sort of writing. This makes me think of the fad where people on youtube will hold a microphone up in frame, because it somehow connotes authenticity. I'm sure some…

2040 at Wal-Mart: - Customer: Excuse me, I'm looking for the Aunt Jemima maple syrup. Can you point me in the right direction? - Employee: y u ask like chatbot

Wow a human employee in walmart in 2040, very optimistic take.

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

#517

Post by aardvark179 »

dylan604 wrote: post #441
mike_hearn wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I love using ° with is the opt-shift-8 when posting temps to indicate I'm on a real keyboard and not some device. Plus, it's just faster than typing degrees

iPhone—hold down 0 and ° should be on the pop up.

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

#519

Post by normie3000 »

sevensor wrote: post #426
mghackerlady wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

unrelated but I've never understood how to put a smiley at the end of parenthetical sentences (which comes up surprisingly often for me since I use smileys a lot and also like using parentheses). Just the smiley as an end parentheses (like this :) feels off but adding another parentheses (like this :) ) makes it look like it should be nested which causes problems since I also tend to nest parenthetical sentences (lik…

The answer is obviously to balance your smiley faces and wrap the entire statement in the smiley face sentiment. ((: Like this :))

Ah, Spanish notation.
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