5 ms·

[ And I've been slow banned. So there was no point in attempting to engage in discussion in the first place.]

taco_emoji 10y ago
You received a couple civil, substantive replies. Are you only interested in civil, substantive replies that agree with you?
- DanBC 10y ago
  It's hard for new accounts to engage in conversation when they're being flagged and downvoted. that green account hadn't (when I looked) said anything worth downvoting, yet had been downvoted across most of their comments. That's hostile and unwelcoming, and it's not surprising they've reacted as they have.
  - 20yrs_no_equity 10y ago
    Hostile and unwelcoming is a fair characterization. Not all subjects have been that way, but this one turned out to be hot potato and so I tried to withdraw in the only way available on this site, only to have that used as an excuse to attack me (by an apparent moderator no less.)
    - tomhoward 10y ago
      There's a reason political topics are discouraged on HackerNews, which is that they too often lead to unedifying discussions like this, in which nobody really learns anything and everyone comes away feeling worse. Remember, the guiding principle behind the content on HN is "anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity". I've read through your comment threads to try and understand why you feel this to be a hostile place. Personally, I'm quite sympathetic to Milton Friedman's ideas, along with Hayek and other prominent free marketers, and I know that many others on HN are too. I doubt that many people are downvoting you merely for expressing pro-free-market positions. I can only see a couple of comments of yours that are being downvoted, but because you removed the content I can't tell whether or not that was fair. What I can say is that whilst some people will downvote a comment just because they disagree with it, more people will do so because the commenter conveys a bad attitude, and is contributing to the very hostility of which you're complaining. I can't say if that's the case in this particular instance, but given how quick you're being to claim victimhood status, I think it's possible. Why not look at the positives: your account has been active for just 9 days and you already have over 120 karma points. That doesn't sound too unwelcoming to me. A few downvotes on comments are no big deal; people have all kinds of different reasons for downvoting, and they're nothing to do with you, but rather how you make the voter feel. In the past I've been quite vocal with some personal insights on health/medical topics, which have sometimes attracted some downvotes, I gather because they're a bit far outside the mainstream for some people to be willing to accept. But I don't mind; it forces me to keep researching and challenging my knowledge, and working harder to present my positions in ways that are more persuasive, whilst also accepting that some people will simply never be persuaded, no matter how well I do (which is equally true of certain economics concepts). So please, try not to be too down on the place just because of a few downvotes, and remember that if everyone tries their best to present their ideas in an informative and gracious manner, HN will be an increasingly worthwhile place to discuss interesting and challenging ideas, and we'll all be better off.
      - DanBC 10y ago
        > I can only see a couple of comments of yours that are being downvoted, but because you removed the content I can't tell whether or not that was fair. It wasn't, for the first comment I saw. That comment was making reasonable points in a reasonable way. > What I can say is that whilst some people will downvote a comment just because they disagree with it, more people will do so because the commenter conveys a bad attitude, and is contributing to the very hostility of which you're complaining. I can't say if that's the case in this particular instance, but given how quick you're being to claim victimhood status, I think it's possible. You should probably avoid judgemental comments about another poster, especially when you didn't even read their fucking comments.
        Hydraulix989 10y ago
        I've seen quite a few comments on this site that express arguments FOR unpopular views and opinions using quality discourse get heavily downvoted (e.g. AI and abstraction killing off most programming jobs, the un-affordability of the Bay Area, presenting evidence of market slowdowns in the tech sector, anything "conservative" or right wing, anything decently cynical towards Elon Musk, anything debunking AI hype, anything religious or spiritual, anything skeptical of portfolio companies). Personally, I'd rather this site be an open forum for discussion than a vehicle for plugging our ears and hearing what we want to hear. As such, I really wish I could view all of the redacted comments on here. Just because somebody doesn't agree with you doesn't mean they should get downvoted. It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle
        20yrs_no_equity 10y ago
        TBH a few down votes are not so bad, but the heavy downvotes are annoying... its' the harassment, and the threats, especially from moderators, and the snotty treatment... especially knowing that its' a game of smear the queer. You respond in anything other than an obsequious manner and you will be kicked while the people engaging in name calling, harassment and stalking (all of which I've experienced on this site in the past) or threatening (Something I've seen moderators do) will get a pass.

You received a couple civil, substantive replies. Are you only interested in civil, substantive replies that agree with you?

DanBC 10y ago
It's hard for new accounts to engage in conversation when they're being flagged and downvoted. that green account hadn't (when I looked) said anything worth downvoting, yet had been downvoted across most of their comments. That's hostile and unwelcoming, and it's not surprising they've reacted as they have.
- 20yrs_no_equity 10y ago
  Hostile and unwelcoming is a fair characterization. Not all subjects have been that way, but this one turned out to be hot potato and so I tried to withdraw in the only way available on this site, only to have that used as an excuse to attack me (by an apparent moderator no less.)
  - tomhoward 10y ago
    There's a reason political topics are discouraged on HackerNews, which is that they too often lead to unedifying discussions like this, in which nobody really learns anything and everyone comes away feeling worse. Remember, the guiding principle behind the content on HN is "anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity". I've read through your comment threads to try and understand why you feel this to be a hostile place. Personally, I'm quite sympathetic to Milton Friedman's ideas, along with Hayek and other prominent free marketers, and I know that many others on HN are too. I doubt that many people are downvoting you merely for expressing pro-free-market positions. I can only see a couple of comments of yours that are being downvoted, but because you removed the content I can't tell whether or not that was fair. What I can say is that whilst some people will downvote a comment just because they disagree with it, more people will do so because the commenter conveys a bad attitude, and is contributing to the very hostility of which you're complaining. I can't say if that's the case in this particular instance, but given how quick you're being to claim victimhood status, I think it's possible. Why not look at the positives: your account has been active for just 9 days and you already have over 120 karma points. That doesn't sound too unwelcoming to me. A few downvotes on comments are no big deal; people have all kinds of different reasons for downvoting, and they're nothing to do with you, but rather how you make the voter feel. In the past I've been quite vocal with some personal insights on health/medical topics, which have sometimes attracted some downvotes, I gather because they're a bit far outside the mainstream for some people to be willing to accept. But I don't mind; it forces me to keep researching and challenging my knowledge, and working harder to present my positions in ways that are more persuasive, whilst also accepting that some people will simply never be persuaded, no matter how well I do (which is equally true of certain economics concepts). So please, try not to be too down on the place just because of a few downvotes, and remember that if everyone tries their best to present their ideas in an informative and gracious manner, HN will be an increasingly worthwhile place to discuss interesting and challenging ideas, and we'll all be better off.
    - DanBC 10y ago
      > I can only see a couple of comments of yours that are being downvoted, but because you removed the content I can't tell whether or not that was fair. It wasn't, for the first comment I saw. That comment was making reasonable points in a reasonable way. > What I can say is that whilst some people will downvote a comment just because they disagree with it, more people will do so because the commenter conveys a bad attitude, and is contributing to the very hostility of which you're complaining. I can't say if that's the case in this particular instance, but given how quick you're being to claim victimhood status, I think it's possible. You should probably avoid judgemental comments about another poster, especially when you didn't even read their fucking comments.
      - Hydraulix989 10y ago
        I've seen quite a few comments on this site that express arguments FOR unpopular views and opinions using quality discourse get heavily downvoted (e.g. AI and abstraction killing off most programming jobs, the un-affordability of the Bay Area, presenting evidence of market slowdowns in the tech sector, anything "conservative" or right wing, anything decently cynical towards Elon Musk, anything debunking AI hype, anything religious or spiritual, anything skeptical of portfolio companies). Personally, I'd rather this site be an open forum for discussion than a vehicle for plugging our ears and hearing what we want to hear. As such, I really wish I could view all of the redacted comments on here. Just because somebody doesn't agree with you doesn't mean they should get downvoted. It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle
        20yrs_no_equity 10y ago
        TBH a few down votes are not so bad, but the heavy downvotes are annoying... its' the harassment, and the threats, especially from moderators, and the snotty treatment... especially knowing that its' a game of smear the queer. You respond in anything other than an obsequious manner and you will be kicked while the people engaging in name calling, harassment and stalking (all of which I've experienced on this site in the past) or threatening (Something I've seen moderators do) will get a pass.