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Your comment was unfortunately not just wrong, it was dangerously wrong. I'd just hate for anyone to read it and think "he's got a point", sorry. "I joined 2

Your comment was unfortunately not just wrong, it was dangerously wrong. I'd just hate for anyone to read it and think "he's got a point", sorry. "I joined 2 days after HN was first opened publicly, and was in the top 10 for a few months a while ago (a year or so), to give you an idea of how times have changed on HN." Looks like I joined the same day you did, and I think I was also in the top 10 for a while. I don't think us not being in the top 10 any more is evidence of "times changing" on HN (other than the fact that the community has grown a lot and so it's progressively harder to stay in the top-N).

palish 17y ago
You're missing the point. I don't care about karma. I said I was in the top 10 to establish that hey, I'm not some random guy, I've been here since the beginning and contributed enough to actually matter, and so therefore when I say HN has a problem then maybe someone will listen and do something about it. As far as you thinking I'm "dangerously wrong", well, I'm still living and breathing, aren't I? Plenty of people live without health insurance, with no problems. Statistically I'm making a safe gamble, even if I'm "gambling with an unlimited downside" or whatever. If you're going to say someone is wrong on HN, you better back up your position with facts.
- abstractbill 17y ago
  As far as you thinking I'm "dangerously wrong", well, I'm still living and breathing, aren't I? Plenty of people live without health insurance, with no problems. Statistically I'm making a safe gamble, even if I'm "gambling with an unlimited downside" or whatever. I think we're drifting pretty far away from a HN-worthy topic here, but I just wanted to say (not ridiculing you at all by the way - I was very reckless in my early 20s), you should really stash this comment away somewhere you'll be able to find and reread it in say 10 years. If you're lucky, you'll just smile and cringe a little when you read it.
  - palish 17y ago
    Man, I wish I could somehow communicate that your commenting is not up to par with what a HN comment should be. You're basically saying "you're wrong because I think so". You help no one and you solve nothing by posting a comment like that, and it really brings down the quality of the conversation.
    - abstractbill 17y ago
      I would love to be the kind of writer who could communicate something like this across a ten-year life experience gap, but I know I'm not - it's actually quite a bit harder than it sounds. One last try though, I guess ;) From my perspective, you're arguing "I'll be lucky", and I'm just saying "you might not be". That's it.
      - palish 17y ago
        Then don't post the comment in the first place, if you're not going to at least try. That's my point. Posting comments just because you feel that you're right doesn't help anyone. It makes the person you're talking to feel annoyed, and doesn't change their point of view. And if your opinion happens to be the popular opinion, then that will incite a mob downvote of their (possibly insightful or interesting but unpopular) comment, and a mob upvote of your useless "I'm right because I'm right" comment. It's demoralizing to spend a lot of time crafting a comment, only to have it mass-downvoted just because it's unpopular, and to have some thoughtless reply massively upvoted just because it's popular. I mean, you see where I'm coming from, right? It's this kind of train of thought that's destroying HN. The thought that it's okay to not put in effort into commenting. The conversation on HN is where the magic is at -- if the conversation goes to hell, then HN is doomed. And thank you for trying to communicate your position, even if it was just a single sentence. As far as my response, well... I really don't see a significant chance of me getting hurt. I'm basically paranoid when I drive, and a car accident is pretty much the only thing that could seriously injure me. Health insurance is $300/mo that I just don't need to spend.
        17y ago
- davidw 17y ago
  The turkey is still living, breathing, and generally living a happy, easy life until a few days before Thanksgiving. Of course you're doing ok - insurance against catastrophic events isn't something you use a little of each day like pasta or olive oil. Some people can probably get along fine without ever having it. If you need it though, you need it from one moment to the next, when you can no longer purchase it.

palish 17y ago

You're missing the point. I don't care about karma. I said I was in the top 10 to establish that hey, I'm not some random guy, I've been here since the beginning and contributed enough to actually matter, and so therefore when I say HN has a problem then maybe someone will listen and do something about it. As far as you thinking I'm "dangerously wrong", well, I'm still living and breathing, aren't I? Plenty of people live without health insurance, with no problems. Statistically I'm making a safe gamble, even if I'm "gambling with an unlimited downside" or whatever. If you're going to say someone is wrong on HN, you better back up your position with facts.

abstractbill 17y ago
As far as you thinking I'm "dangerously wrong", well, I'm still living and breathing, aren't I? Plenty of people live without health insurance, with no problems. Statistically I'm making a safe gamble, even if I'm "gambling with an unlimited downside" or whatever. I think we're drifting pretty far away from a HN-worthy topic here, but I just wanted to say (not ridiculing you at all by the way - I was very reckless in my early 20s), you should really stash this comment away somewhere you'll be able to find and reread it in say 10 years. If you're lucky, you'll just smile and cringe a little when you read it.
- palish 17y ago
  Man, I wish I could somehow communicate that your commenting is not up to par with what a HN comment should be. You're basically saying "you're wrong because I think so". You help no one and you solve nothing by posting a comment like that, and it really brings down the quality of the conversation.
  - abstractbill 17y ago
    I would love to be the kind of writer who could communicate something like this across a ten-year life experience gap, but I know I'm not - it's actually quite a bit harder than it sounds. One last try though, I guess ;) From my perspective, you're arguing "I'll be lucky", and I'm just saying "you might not be". That's it.
    - palish 17y ago
      Then don't post the comment in the first place, if you're not going to at least try. That's my point. Posting comments just because you feel that you're right doesn't help anyone. It makes the person you're talking to feel annoyed, and doesn't change their point of view. And if your opinion happens to be the popular opinion, then that will incite a mob downvote of their (possibly insightful or interesting but unpopular) comment, and a mob upvote of your useless "I'm right because I'm right" comment. It's demoralizing to spend a lot of time crafting a comment, only to have it mass-downvoted just because it's unpopular, and to have some thoughtless reply massively upvoted just because it's popular. I mean, you see where I'm coming from, right? It's this kind of train of thought that's destroying HN. The thought that it's okay to not put in effort into commenting. The conversation on HN is where the magic is at -- if the conversation goes to hell, then HN is doomed. And thank you for trying to communicate your position, even if it was just a single sentence. As far as my response, well... I really don't see a significant chance of me getting hurt. I'm basically paranoid when I drive, and a car accident is pretty much the only thing that could seriously injure me. Health insurance is $300/mo that I just don't need to spend.
      - 17y ago
davidw 17y ago
The turkey is still living, breathing, and generally living a happy, easy life until a few days before Thanksgiving. Of course you're doing ok - insurance against catastrophic events isn't something you use a little of each day like pasta or olive oil. Some people can probably get along fine without ever having it. If you need it though, you need it from one moment to the next, when you can no longer purchase it.