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As of right now, the top comment is complaining about the negative comments, the next 75% of the comments or so are positive comments (even calling Musk a hero

As of right now, the top comment is complaining about the negative comments, the next 75% of the comments or so are positive comments (even calling Musk a hero and saying that this is a historical moment), and there's about 25% or so that are skeptical (many of those offering valid criticisms and not simply complaining about it). Yes, excessive negativity can be a bad thing. But when a small minority of the comments being critical (comments mostly downvoted to the bottom) is considered too negative (to the point where people are advocating scripts that remove or auto-downvote comments deemed negative), it suggests that there's a danger of people being overly sanguine and reflexively hostile to any criticism. I'm not sure how something as massive as this could ever be accomplished without taking it seriously. And I don't think it can be taken seriously without taking a good, hard look at the numerous challenges that face it. Mindless hype doesn't really get us anywhere.

j1vms 10y ago
If the comment split here goes 75% positive / 25% not, I think that's a healthy split. Even if it had been 50/50 I'd still consider that good. A caveat: particularly in the case of someone like Musk who already has, conservatively speaking, some very decent stuff under his belt, if someone wants to post something against an idea they themselves have the responsibility, to make sure it is indeed well thought out, and not just knee-jerk negativity, pessimism or cynicism. Likewise, people need to realize that excessive fanboyism really needs to be tempered and can really turn others off from supporting some of the truly great innovators of our time whomever they might be. No matter how stunning a person might be, they still gotta take a shit like anyone else, and you bet that shit's gonna stink too.
mikeash 10y ago
I don't see the complainers taking a good, hard look at the challenges. I see them taking a superficial glance and then basically complaining that people shouldn't like different things. Maybe you're right that the numbers don't justify my complaint, but this isn't about silencing dissent or being hostile to criticism, I just want intelligent criticism.

j1vms 10y ago

If the comment split here goes 75% positive / 25% not, I think that's a healthy split. Even if it had been 50/50 I'd still consider that good. A caveat: particularly in the case of someone like Musk who already has, conservatively speaking, some very decent stuff under his belt, if someone wants to post something against an idea they themselves have the responsibility, to make sure it is indeed well thought out, and not just knee-jerk negativity, pessimism or cynicism. Likewise, people need to realize that excessive fanboyism really needs to be tempered and can really turn others off from supporting some of the truly great innovators of our time whomever they might be. No matter how stunning a person might be, they still gotta take a shit like anyone else, and you bet that shit's gonna stink too.

mikeash 10y ago

I don't see the complainers taking a good, hard look at the challenges. I see them taking a superficial glance and then basically complaining that people shouldn't like different things. Maybe you're right that the numbers don't justify my complaint, but this isn't about silencing dissent or being hostile to criticism, I just want intelligent criticism.