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Ask HN: Does anyone else lie on the internet?

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Re: Ask HN: Does anyone else lie on the internet?

#81

Post by Mandatum »

zmxz wrote: post #77

Thank you for admitting to this. I won't judge you, you are human just like I am. I don't want to take some kind of moral high ground here - however, I tend to skip topics I don't know about. I've had my share of arguing with people online who, by my personal assertion, had no clue what they're talking about. To put it in context: developers who talk bad about PHP. In the end I gave up doing so. I notice that if I'm…

It’s been interesting to see such polarising views in this thread. From the very start there are complete opposing views about what I’ve done.

Ask I’m not sure it took too much guts given it’s anonymous.

Take care, stranger!

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone else lie on the internet?

#84

Post by goodpoint »

quaintdev wrote: post #24

Some people in comments are saying you are troll for doing this. I do not understand how this makes you a troll. When you post these comments are you willing to accept defeat when you are wrong? If your answer is yes, you are not a troll. Commenting on something you have no idea about is not bad per se. In fact, it brings a perspective of an outsider in the discussion.

> Some people in comments are saying you are troll for doing this.

Poisoning a conversation with lies fits perfectly the definition of trolling.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone else lie on the internet?

#86

Post by goodpoint »

Your post reminds me of researchers that willfully submitted made-up research papers to multiple editors to test their ability to spot bullshit.

Many failed, as the HN hivemind failed to verify your statements.

I like how you accidentally called out the king for being naked.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone else lie on the internet?

#87

Post by incomingpain »

Now, while I do not do this now, I extensively did this on Digg and then reddit way back in the day. That's pretty standard trolling.

>I regularly lie and pretend I know about topics and areas I have zero experience in.

Never lie. This is a tiny book by Sam Harris: https://www.samharris.org/books/lying

Lying never works. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou_shalt_not_bear_false_witn...

In fact, soon as you decide to stop lying. You life dramatically improves and then shortly after that it drops again as you discover lies that feel like you're supposed to say them. You dont even think you're lying, call them white lies or whatever you want. You may even find when you stop saying those lies bad things happen to you. A great majority of people do not want to hear the truth, ever, under any circumstances. This is why so many people lie, it's very challenging to live in society and not lie.

This is when you learn how to be silent; say nothing, say you dont know if prompted. A good scientist will always admit when they dont know.

>Does anyone else do this?

I have an opinion about Star Trek. Do I know anything about producing tv shows? No. Is it lying? No.

However, looking at your africa example. This is a lie. You should not do this.

The lie isn't even important in Africa. What is that post really doing? It's about portraying South Africa as a violent and unsafe place. It's a prejudice.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone else lie on the internet?

#89

Post by mid-kid »

kieckerjan wrote: post #67

Except for donning the occasional robe and wizard hat, which I do not own, I do not do that. Frankly your confession disturbed me a bit. Not because you (and doubtlessly other people) do it, but because I read the comments you cited and the lying is convincing enough to fool me. I realize I have fallen for the naive idea that after almost 30 years of internet I have become inoculated to the BS floating around, as if…

I share this sentiment, I can't tell the posts linked in OP are lying.

Though, the running theme in OP's posts is that of anecdotal evidence. This should always be taken with a grain of salt, even if the person on the other side isn't lying. People tend to exaggerate certain parts of their experiences to suit their world view, usually subconsciously, and neglect to share other parts. You can't really find much truth about a topic based on the experiences of a single person.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone else lie on the internet?

#90

Post by oliwarner »

Mandatum wrote: post #7
thatwasunusual wrote: post #6

You might need help. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathological_lying https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslighting

I've got pretty healthy relationships IRL - I find it very difficult to lie to anyone I know, work with or have real life dealings with. It's not compulsive, it's a choice. This is just limited to the internet about unimportant topics. I don't think anything I've done has any real impact on people. I'd say it's more of a fucking weird hobby (some obscure role-playing?) than anything else. Appreciate the links though!…

The problem in a thread where you admit to being a liar is everybody reads around what you say.

You say you only lie online about unimportant stuff, I assume you actually cheat on your taxes, con old grannies out of their pension, and in your spare time, go by the name of Q.

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