49 ms·

Oh good, even more barbed wire biceps, carp sleeves, black fore-arm stars, "tribal" patterns on white dudes, spiderwebs, hummingbirds, infinity symbols, and oth

Oh good, even more barbed wire biceps, carp sleeves, black fore-arm stars, "tribal" patterns on white dudes, spiderwebs, hummingbirds, infinity symbols, and other ways for people to show how eager they are to express their "individuality"! Edit: Down-vote me if I offend your tattooed rebellious self-image, it's fine, but there's a real point to be made. This technology will lead to a lot more tattoos, and a lot more homogeneity and poor designs. I know people with tattoos that most people would actually call legitimate "art", and I know some of them wouldn't be particularly thrilled by the further "watering down" of what they consider an important part of their identity.

askldfhjkasfhd 10y ago
The downvotes are because your comment added nothing to the discussion beyond expressing your distaste for people who dare decorate their body in a way that indicates membership in a group you personally have distaste for.
- solipsism 10y ago
  Yes, and the up-votes were because the up-voters understand nuance.
  - steele 10y ago
    Nah, they are probably salty folk like yourself that got a chuckle from your open mic night tattoo joke because you typed what they were thinking but chose not to comment because it little to do with the actual article or because your complaint was a complete work and they felt they could add nothing and echoing the sentiment would be ironic in this context. With that said, you articulated one of the most clichéd reactions to fad tattoo designs.
steele 10y ago
I don't see the problem with other people's taste. Not sure why you have such a problem with it either. I mean, your handle is solipsism instead of hnreader7381648 because you like the word even though someone else may think it's an uninteresting word from a first year philosophy syllabus.
- solipsism 10y ago
  That's my handle for a reason having nothing to do with the philosophical concept, actually. Each person has his or her own reason for picking a handle, often publicly unknown and personal -- this is one of the cool things about handles. If handles looked like this though: solipsism1, solipsism34, solipsism85, solipsism87, solipsism21, solipsism3485, solipsism_is_cool, solipsism_4thewin, solipsism111.... well, I can see being annoyed at seeing the same thing over and over again. It wouldn't bother you I guess. That's cool, there's no accounting for taste.
  - Archio 10y ago
    >That's my tattoo for a reason having nothing to do with the philosophical concept, actually. Each person has his or her own reason for picking a tattoo, often publicly unknown and personal -- this is one of the cool things about tattoos.
    - solipsism 10y ago
      Erm.... you forgot to read the rest of the comment? I think I touched a nerve. It's okay! My comment doesn't threaten the coolness of your tattoos!
wpietri 10y ago
I have no tattoos, and doubt I will, so this isn't about my self image. I downvoted you for being a dick. And also for not really thinking this through. When a medium doesn't allow for iteration, people tend to a) make obvious choices, b) make conservative choices, and c) end up with regrets. As our ability to iterate in software has improved, we've ended up with more interesting work. My bet is that we will see more total tattooings but fewer tattoo-years of flesh, so I think there will be a net decrease in seeing boring and/or shitty tattoos. I think the ones that people renew and/or make permanent will actually be better because they'll be more likely to get their dumb and/or exploratory tattoos done with temporary ink that they'll eventually let fade.
- solipsism 10y ago
  You didn't like my ideas. You downvoted because you disagreed. I don't play like that, but that's how it works around here, fine. But the fact that you feel welcome to call a stranger you've never met a dick, and then attempt to engage in civil discourse with him, says more about you than it does about me. Pick one or the other next time. When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names Most people learn this as children, but since you didn't, stick to the guidelines around here.
  - wpietri 10y ago
    No, that's not calling you names. (That would be "You are a dick.") It's describing your behavior. "Being a dick" is a term of art. For many years, Wikipedia had a useful page called "Don't be a dick": https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_be_a_jerk&oldid=2980084 https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_be_a_je... They've more recently renamed it "don't be a jerk", so if your delicate sensibilities can't handle my original comment, feel free to read it as "jerk". In particular, you took something that a lot of people like and were shitty about it. You set yourself up as lord-high judge of them and their self expression. The people you were being condescending toward surely include people here. Then, rather than just accepting the downvotes, you accused downvoters of working from offense to their "tattooed rebellious self-image", assuming bad faith and again acting superior. I'm happy to call that being a dick. As long as you're being a stickler for following the guidelines, perhaps read on down to "Please resist commenting about being downvoted. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading."
fsociety 10y ago
It's funny. The last reason I received my tattoo was for any sense of individuality or to define my identity. People get tattoos for all sorts of reasons. Sitting down with a good tattoo artist can mean many things. For some people it is getting a tattoo in the spur of the moment and making sure it is what they want. For others it is building a complex relationship and speaking your design through the artist. Other artists rather just do their own thing and have people lend their bodies. Cheap technology will never replace a good artist, and good artists won't be threatened by it. I'd argue your salty response to tribal tattoos as proof that they are an effective form of art. Not exactly my taste, but still legitimate art. What else offends you?
Chris2048 10y ago
What's wrong with tribal tats on whites guys? They had as little to do with the invention of those patterns as the descendants of the originators; Are tatoos limited to signalling personal perception of identity?
antihero 10y ago
Alternatively, stop giving a fuck and let people do what they hell they want with their bodies. If you see yourself as above them because of it, that's your business.
- solipsism 10y ago
  I would never try to tell anyone what to do with his or her body. Would you try to tell someone what he should or shouldn't do with his mind?
cname 10y ago
I wonder if you show this kind of disdain toward all types of fashion--like the clothes you yourself wear--or just toward certain things you likely associate with "hipsters" or some other easily-disparaged group? I'm not sure I would have downvoted your original comment, but your edit about "rebellious self-image" seems uncalled for. Not everyone is trying to be rebellious all the time. Just thinking out loud here... I wonder what would happen if we all stopped being so superficially judgmental and making nasty comments about people based on assumptions. Maybe people would actually end up making better choices on the whole because of a lack of pressure and there being nothing to rebel against.
- solipsism 10y ago
  Thanks for your comment, and fsociety's as well. More substantive and well thought-out than my original comment. I admit I'm annoyed by a lot of fashion. Obviously I wear clothes -- not only are they practical, I wouldn't function well in society without them. But I'm annoyed by the way some people seem to go so far out of their way to brand themselves part of some particular subculture. This takes many forms. I'm annoyed by die-hard Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, meat-eaters, vegetarians (the die-hard ones who use it as yet another tribe to be a member of.. not anyone who eats meat or doesn't), punk rockers (it's my favorite kind of music, but the attire at a punk show is much less individualistic than that of the general public), bumper stickers, etc. And when this homogenization is sold as being rebellious or individualistic, it annoys me even more. I could go on at length about why I have a problem with homogeneity and why it's a little more than simple annoyance, but I suppose I've lost my chance. I could go on at length about how important I think it is for every person to express hisself/herself however he/she chooses, even if it happens to annoy me, but this is also not too relevant. Most people probably wouldn't agree with me, but that's hopefully okay in the marketplace of ideas. My original point, which was understood by basically no one (this is my fault, of course), was that I feel this technology would lead to more of homogeneity, which I would consider a bad thing. I said it poorly, and then acted poorly afterward as well.

askldfhjkasfhd 10y ago

The downvotes are because your comment added nothing to the discussion beyond expressing your distaste for people who dare decorate their body in a way that indicates membership in a group you personally have distaste for.

solipsism 10y ago
Yes, and the up-votes were because the up-voters understand nuance.
- steele 10y ago
  Nah, they are probably salty folk like yourself that got a chuckle from your open mic night tattoo joke because you typed what they were thinking but chose not to comment because it little to do with the actual article or because your complaint was a complete work and they felt they could add nothing and echoing the sentiment would be ironic in this context. With that said, you articulated one of the most clichéd reactions to fad tattoo designs.

steele 10y ago

I don't see the problem with other people's taste. Not sure why you have such a problem with it either. I mean, your handle is solipsism instead of hnreader7381648 because you like the word even though someone else may think it's an uninteresting word from a first year philosophy syllabus.

solipsism 10y ago
That's my handle for a reason having nothing to do with the philosophical concept, actually. Each person has his or her own reason for picking a handle, often publicly unknown and personal -- this is one of the cool things about handles. If handles looked like this though: solipsism1, solipsism34, solipsism85, solipsism87, solipsism21, solipsism3485, solipsism_is_cool, solipsism_4thewin, solipsism111.... well, I can see being annoyed at seeing the same thing over and over again. It wouldn't bother you I guess. That's cool, there's no accounting for taste.
- Archio 10y ago
  >That's my tattoo for a reason having nothing to do with the philosophical concept, actually. Each person has his or her own reason for picking a tattoo, often publicly unknown and personal -- this is one of the cool things about tattoos.
  - solipsism 10y ago
    Erm.... you forgot to read the rest of the comment? I think I touched a nerve. It's okay! My comment doesn't threaten the coolness of your tattoos!

wpietri 10y ago

I have no tattoos, and doubt I will, so this isn't about my self image. I downvoted you for being a dick. And also for not really thinking this through. When a medium doesn't allow for iteration, people tend to a) make obvious choices, b) make conservative choices, and c) end up with regrets. As our ability to iterate in software has improved, we've ended up with more interesting work. My bet is that we will see more total tattooings but fewer tattoo-years of flesh, so I think there will be a net decrease in seeing boring and/or shitty tattoos. I think the ones that people renew and/or make permanent will actually be better because they'll be more likely to get their dumb and/or exploratory tattoos done with temporary ink that they'll eventually let fade.

solipsism 10y ago
You didn't like my ideas. You downvoted because you disagreed. I don't play like that, but that's how it works around here, fine. But the fact that you feel welcome to call a stranger you've never met a dick, and then attempt to engage in civil discourse with him, says more about you than it does about me. Pick one or the other next time. When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names Most people learn this as children, but since you didn't, stick to the guidelines around here.
- wpietri 10y ago
  No, that's not calling you names. (That would be "You are a dick.") It's describing your behavior. "Being a dick" is a term of art. For many years, Wikipedia had a useful page called "Don't be a dick": https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_be_a_jerk&oldid=2980084 https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don%27t_be_a_je... They've more recently renamed it "don't be a jerk", so if your delicate sensibilities can't handle my original comment, feel free to read it as "jerk". In particular, you took something that a lot of people like and were shitty about it. You set yourself up as lord-high judge of them and their self expression. The people you were being condescending toward surely include people here. Then, rather than just accepting the downvotes, you accused downvoters of working from offense to their "tattooed rebellious self-image", assuming bad faith and again acting superior. I'm happy to call that being a dick. As long as you're being a stickler for following the guidelines, perhaps read on down to "Please resist commenting about being downvoted. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading."

fsociety 10y ago

It's funny. The last reason I received my tattoo was for any sense of individuality or to define my identity. People get tattoos for all sorts of reasons. Sitting down with a good tattoo artist can mean many things. For some people it is getting a tattoo in the spur of the moment and making sure it is what they want. For others it is building a complex relationship and speaking your design through the artist. Other artists rather just do their own thing and have people lend their bodies. Cheap technology will never replace a good artist, and good artists won't be threatened by it. I'd argue your salty response to tribal tattoos as proof that they are an effective form of art. Not exactly my taste, but still legitimate art. What else offends you?

Chris2048 10y ago

What's wrong with tribal tats on whites guys? They had as little to do with the invention of those patterns as the descendants of the originators; Are tatoos limited to signalling personal perception of identity?

antihero 10y ago

Alternatively, stop giving a fuck and let people do what they hell they want with their bodies. If you see yourself as above them because of it, that's your business.

solipsism 10y ago
I would never try to tell anyone what to do with his or her body. Would you try to tell someone what he should or shouldn't do with his mind?

cname 10y ago

I wonder if you show this kind of disdain toward all types of fashion--like the clothes you yourself wear--or just toward certain things you likely associate with "hipsters" or some other easily-disparaged group? I'm not sure I would have downvoted your original comment, but your edit about "rebellious self-image" seems uncalled for. Not everyone is trying to be rebellious all the time. Just thinking out loud here... I wonder what would happen if we all stopped being so superficially judgmental and making nasty comments about people based on assumptions. Maybe people would actually end up making better choices on the whole because of a lack of pressure and there being nothing to rebel against.

solipsism 10y ago
Thanks for your comment, and fsociety's as well. More substantive and well thought-out than my original comment. I admit I'm annoyed by a lot of fashion. Obviously I wear clothes -- not only are they practical, I wouldn't function well in society without them. But I'm annoyed by the way some people seem to go so far out of their way to brand themselves part of some particular subculture. This takes many forms. I'm annoyed by die-hard Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, meat-eaters, vegetarians (the die-hard ones who use it as yet another tribe to be a member of.. not anyone who eats meat or doesn't), punk rockers (it's my favorite kind of music, but the attire at a punk show is much less individualistic than that of the general public), bumper stickers, etc. And when this homogenization is sold as being rebellious or individualistic, it annoys me even more. I could go on at length about why I have a problem with homogeneity and why it's a little more than simple annoyance, but I suppose I've lost my chance. I could go on at length about how important I think it is for every person to express hisself/herself however he/she chooses, even if it happens to annoy me, but this is also not too relevant. Most people probably wouldn't agree with me, but that's hopefully okay in the marketplace of ideas. My original point, which was understood by basically no one (this is my fault, of course), was that I feel this technology would lead to more of homogeneity, which I would consider a bad thing. I said it poorly, and then acted poorly afterward as well.