Some tactics for writing in public
1–10 of 215 posts
Re: Some tactics for writing in public
#2Embarrassingly, I was today years old when I learnt that dig used to be a) an acronym and b) what is stood for
Re: Some tactics for writing in public
#3This is really great, actionable, sensible, advice for folks who write on the internet. It agrees with my experiences, too.
On the other hand, it's sad that the culture we have built on the internet forces talented people like Julia to censor themselves and narrow the scope of their writing.
> So I have a weird catalog in my head of things not to mention if I don’t want to start the same discussion about that thing for the 50th time.
Somehow we've built a culture where its socially acceptable, and even rewarded, to behave online in ways that would never be acceptable in other social settings. The exact flavors of that on HN, Slashdot, Twitter, Tumblr, etc are different, but the core issue is the same everywhere.
Re: Some tactics for writing in public
#4I really enjoy her writing. I hope one day to have an audience that keeps me at my computer a few hours after posting!
Re: Some tactics for writing in public
#5This is really great, actionable, sensible, advice for folks who write on the internet. It agrees with my experiences, too. On the other hand, it's sad that the culture we have built on the internet forces talented people like Julia to censor themselves and narrow the scope of their writing. > So I have a weird catalog in my head of things not to mention if I don’t want to start the same discussion about that thing f…
I'm not sure I'd use censor in the context of Julia's post. It read more like the next thing you quoted. Something's well-trod and people have strong opinions but absolutely no one is going to change their mind or really make a novel point or learn anything new.
I do think there are things that many people self-sensor, e.g. opinions that fall outside or on the edges of the orthodoxy of some bubble and is just going to trigger emotional arguments/stereotyping/downvotes/etc.
Re: Some tactics for writing in public
#6Embarrassingly, I was today years old when I learnt that dig used to be a) an acronym and b) what is stood for
and ping as well (learnt that from the mastodon thread)!
Re: Some tactics for writing in public
#7Re: Some tactics for writing in public
#8Summary of her rules for defensive posting:
1. Talk about facts
2. Tell stories
3. Ask technical questions
4. Fix mistakes
5. Ask for examples, not opinions
6. Start with a little context
7. Avoid flamebait triggers
8. Preempt common suggestions
9. Ignore people who challenge your viewpoint (my interpretation)
10. Don't pursue arguments
11. Pay attention to critical feedback
Re: Some tactics for writing in public
#9Embarrassingly, I was today years old when I learnt that dig used to be a) an acronym and b) what is stood for
and ping as well (learnt that from the mastodon thread)!
Ping was originally named after sonar pings. Then later some guy came up with a weird acronym for a thing he did not invent. We don’t have to acknowledge it as a legitimate acronym. And as far as I can tell, the backronym is not a part of ping man pages, unlike with dig
Re: Some tactics for writing in public
#10This is really great, actionable, sensible, advice for folks who write on the internet. It agrees with my experiences, too. On the other hand, it's sad that the culture we have built on the internet forces talented people like Julia to censor themselves and narrow the scope of their writing. > So I have a weird catalog in my head of things not to mention if I don’t want to start the same discussion about that thing f…
I think it's fair that some people have stronger feelings about and more appetite for discussing a topic than I do.
To pick one of her examples, I've done a couple of toy projects with Tailwind. I think it's pretty neat, and I don't mind saying so! But I accept that people working full time on huge Tailwind projects at work probably care way more deeply about the topic than I do, are much more impacted by aspects of Tailwind that might be trivial to me in my toy use of it, and are going to invest an amount of time and passion discussing it that would frankly bore me to death. If I were running into that repeatedly, I would stop bringing Tailwind into discussions that I didn't want to be about Tailwind, and I wouldn't feel that bad about it.