4 ms·

I wish I had access to such a great source of information when I was 14. I was just starting to become a competent programmer, and would have greatly benefited

by mrtron 19y ago

I wish I had access to such a great source of information when I was 14. I was just starting to become a competent programmer, and would have greatly benefited from the recurring messages in this site (like release early and often, I rarely released anything to anyone but a small circle of friends). I finally began to learn these principles through a lot of trial and error on my own in my mid 20's. While I realize that the majority of users will be 20-40 year old web app creators buy don't alienate anyone. Going forward can we look to keep non-hackers away? I think everyone enjoys this community, let's not strangle the spirit of it trying to keep it from changing.

pg 19y ago
Sorry, I know there are thoughtful 14 year olds. I don't want to exclude them. I'm using "14 year olds" as shorthand for people whose mental age is 14. Basically, anyone, whatever their age, whose comments you can imagine being said by Beavis & Butthead.
- davidw 19y ago
  One of the things I actually worry about are the "attractive nuisance" threads about things like politics and economics that are actually pretty interesting, or can be, but often end up being fairly divisive and distracting. This, for instance: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=121137 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=121137 So far it's civil... But they're the kinds of things that end up drawing people into often lengthly, fruitless debates - they end up being philosophical differences that might be ok to discuss over a bottle of wine, but often end up badly on the internet...
- andreyf 19y ago
  I'm not sure users can be neatly split into "mental 14 year olds" versus "mental adults". I act like a mental 14 year old sometimes (usually on reddit), and sometimes I don't (usually here). I think most users are like that, and if we give an appearance of incentive for people to act maturely, then they will. I think this is at heart a psychological problem, not a sorting problem. Of course, some people will act like "mental 14yo's" no matter what, and others never visit reddit anymore - but it seems intuitive that most people are somewhere in between.

by mrtron 19y ago

pg 19y ago

Sorry, I know there are thoughtful 14 year olds. I don't want to exclude them. I'm using "14 year olds" as shorthand for people whose mental age is 14. Basically, anyone, whatever their age, whose comments you can imagine being said by Beavis & Butthead.

davidw 19y ago
One of the things I actually worry about are the "attractive nuisance" threads about things like politics and economics that are actually pretty interesting, or can be, but often end up being fairly divisive and distracting. This, for instance: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=121137 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=121137 So far it's civil... But they're the kinds of things that end up drawing people into often lengthly, fruitless debates - they end up being philosophical differences that might be ok to discuss over a bottle of wine, but often end up badly on the internet...
andreyf 19y ago
I'm not sure users can be neatly split into "mental 14 year olds" versus "mental adults". I act like a mental 14 year old sometimes (usually on reddit), and sometimes I don't (usually here). I think most users are like that, and if we give an appearance of incentive for people to act maturely, then they will. I think this is at heart a psychological problem, not a sorting problem. Of course, some people will act like "mental 14yo's" no matter what, and others never visit reddit anymore - but it seems intuitive that most people are somewhere in between.