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I don't know who you are, but my reaction is that a comment like this shouldn't be stated in the exact tone you've chosen/reacted with. (I looked through your

I don't know who you are, but my reaction is that a comment like this shouldn't be stated in the exact tone you've chosen/reacted with. (I looked through your past few comments, and a lot of them are the same way - "There is no shortage of scammy software companies like AVG, but what always cracked me up about AVG was their logo.") I like the fact that HN is a particularly civil place - it's in the guidelines. Now granted, AVG or Martin Shkreli aren't a member of the HN community in a very narrow sense (though I'm sure AVG engineers read it), unlike a startup founder. But I would appreciate it if you would hedge your statements, lead with the facts, and make them subjective. It may sound like reserved understatement if you do so, but people here know how to read between the lines. I don't object to any of the facts you've presented, in fact your view is appreciated here, and you don't have to be "neutral", you're not Wikipedia. I just wish you would take a moment and phrase it more carefully. HN has a rule, no gratuitious negativity, and civil discourse. (Again I'd like to emphasize that I enjoyed reading your take and the facts you've presented.) EDIT: This comment is now at -4. I'm sorry, downvoters are not following HN policy. "Simply put, Martin is a sociopathic criminal with a well-established, and consistent track record of deceit, recklessness, failure, and just plain old stupidity" without references, and "In all my years of investing, he is one of the most unique scumbags I've ever come across" is extremely inflammatory. As you can see from the number of replies that it has generated. We don't need to make HN reddit. The facts speak for themselves - when they're presented.

anigbrowl 11y ago
I didn't downvote but I do disagree with you. It's a blunt opinion, but one supported by reference to the article and to the cited litigation, from someone with meaningful perspective as a professional investor - in the same way I'd be OK with a professional crypto researcher saying 'Product X is blatantly insecure, and Software Company Y is dishonest when it claims otherwise,' or any number of other contexts. I'm with you on thinking one should be diplomatic most of the time absent full possession of the facts, but I don't think one should hedge one's personal experience as long as its appropriately qualified. In this case I saw an unusually blunt opinion, but one formed with additional information that I don't have access to. I don't take the opinion at face value, but it expands the scope of the discussion with additional data rather than being purely a reaction to the NYT article, not least because the author of the opinion is signaling a willingness to risk reputational damage by making such blunt statements.
- logicallee 11y ago
  I have absolutely no objection to the opinion and said about three times that I was glad to have read it. The exact same opinion can be worded in different ways. It's not about being diplomatic, it's about being informative versus inflammatory. If you try to read it literally what does "one of the most unique scumbags I've ever come across" mean exactly? It's not possible to translate this into an informative statement - it contains too little information, and "one of the most unique" is not even an oxymoron, it just has no informative content. (Some people consider "most unique" to be a grammatical error.) So if it's a reflection of the author's emotions, it should be stated in those terms. But if the author takes a moment, he (or she) can make it far more informative. This isn't reddit.
  - anigbrowl 11y ago
    I found it meaningful insofar as the the poster was locating the subject far out on the tail of a normal distribution, and I've had enough contact with the hedge fund world to have a sense of the distribution in question (and how people express themselves in that social context). I do see your point but I guess we have different communication styles as I found the use of language more informative than inflammatory. De gustibus, non est disputandem.

anigbrowl 11y ago

I didn't downvote but I do disagree with you. It's a blunt opinion, but one supported by reference to the article and to the cited litigation, from someone with meaningful perspective as a professional investor - in the same way I'd be OK with a professional crypto researcher saying 'Product X is blatantly insecure, and Software Company Y is dishonest when it claims otherwise,' or any number of other contexts. I'm with you on thinking one should be diplomatic most of the time absent full possession of the facts, but I don't think one should hedge one's personal experience as long as its appropriately qualified. In this case I saw an unusually blunt opinion, but one formed with additional information that I don't have access to. I don't take the opinion at face value, but it expands the scope of the discussion with additional data rather than being purely a reaction to the NYT article, not least because the author of the opinion is signaling a willingness to risk reputational damage by making such blunt statements.

logicallee 11y ago
I have absolutely no objection to the opinion and said about three times that I was glad to have read it. The exact same opinion can be worded in different ways. It's not about being diplomatic, it's about being informative versus inflammatory. If you try to read it literally what does "one of the most unique scumbags I've ever come across" mean exactly? It's not possible to translate this into an informative statement - it contains too little information, and "one of the most unique" is not even an oxymoron, it just has no informative content. (Some people consider "most unique" to be a grammatical error.) So if it's a reflection of the author's emotions, it should be stated in those terms. But if the author takes a moment, he (or she) can make it far more informative. This isn't reddit.
- anigbrowl 11y ago
  I found it meaningful insofar as the the poster was locating the subject far out on the tail of a normal distribution, and I've had enough contact with the hedge fund world to have a sense of the distribution in question (and how people express themselves in that social context). I do see your point but I guess we have different communication styles as I found the use of language more informative than inflammatory. De gustibus, non est disputandem.