Dear david-given, I really enjoyed reading your follow-up post on HackerNews. Truly it provided a good example of an antiquated mode of communication which is

Dear david-given, I really enjoyed reading your follow-up post on HackerNews. Truly it provided a good example of an antiquated mode of communication which is nonetheless an excellent solution to the problem of conveying social cues over the internet. I wanted to mention to you another aspect of this solution. Namely, the impersonal nature of the communication also provides some emotional distance between the writer and the reader. This can be valuable in the event that what is written is controversial in some way, as it communicates a desire to form some neutral ground where the conversation can be had. This helps facilitate an atmosphere of collaboration rather than the usual Internet attitude of spit-roasting of the reader. I hope you find this message of some use or insight. I appreciate the time you've taken to read it. Thank you, jschwartzi