4 ms·

>I feel in the off-the-cuff discussions on the site where I know my stupidity won't be saved forever. Meanwhile on HN, regret goes from actionable to permanent

by rl3 10y ago

>I feel in the off-the-cuff discussions on the site where I know my stupidity won't be saved forever. Meanwhile on HN, regret goes from actionable to permanent in two hours. Personally I think we should be able to kill one old post with no replies every 500 or 1000 karma. For old posts with replies, maybe just allow an append-only edit so it's possible to create little notes such as: "Hi! Please disregard; I can't believe I wrote this trash either."

EdSharkey 10y ago
Could you clarify what are you getting at when you say "actionable to permanent in two hours"? A few of the things I like about HN is are: * there are experts in many fields lurking that sometimes jump in on discussions and offer valuable opinions * the site rules, moderation, and downvotes encourage people to think before they write and have respectful discussions - I notice a lot of people bring their A-game here when they comment I'm always so surprised when users edit their comment to complain that they are accumulating downvotes. Karma is just a counter that got decremented a bunch of times. It says that people did not like what you wrote - process the feedback, move on, and try to do better next time! I've found that when I have an opinion I know others will consider odious, if I'm gentle with my approach and give some rationale, I don't get too harshly downvoted. A handful of "I DISAGREE, JERK" downvotes never hurt anyone.
- grzm 10y ago
  Could you clarify what are you getting at when you say "actionable to permanent in two hours"? Likely this is a reference to how long a comment is editable by the author. After two hours, a comment can no longer be edited or deleted.
  - EdSharkey 10y ago
    Thanks for clarifying, I had no idea what they were referring to in that case.
- sanderjd 10y ago
  I don't think they meant editing to complain about downvotes, but rather editing to disavow or delete a comment you wish you hadn't made (usually days or weeks later). I have lots of old comments that I find embarrassing now.
DashRattlesnake 10y ago
One way to work around this is to not cling to a permanent pseudonyms identity, and instead drop and recreate them occasionally. No one will care if you said a stupid thing for very long if you never build up an identity. Obviously, that doesn't work very well if you're some kind of celebrity wishing to make a statement or want to build up e-friends over time.

by rl3 10y ago

EdSharkey 10y ago

Could you clarify what are you getting at when you say "actionable to permanent in two hours"? A few of the things I like about HN is are: * there are experts in many fields lurking that sometimes jump in on discussions and offer valuable opinions * the site rules, moderation, and downvotes encourage people to think before they write and have respectful discussions - I notice a lot of people bring their A-game here when they comment I'm always so surprised when users edit their comment to complain that they are accumulating downvotes. Karma is just a counter that got decremented a bunch of times. It says that people did not like what you wrote - process the feedback, move on, and try to do better next time! I've found that when I have an opinion I know others will consider odious, if I'm gentle with my approach and give some rationale, I don't get too harshly downvoted. A handful of "I DISAGREE, JERK" downvotes never hurt anyone.

grzm 10y ago
Could you clarify what are you getting at when you say "actionable to permanent in two hours"? Likely this is a reference to how long a comment is editable by the author. After two hours, a comment can no longer be edited or deleted.
- EdSharkey 10y ago
  Thanks for clarifying, I had no idea what they were referring to in that case.
sanderjd 10y ago
I don't think they meant editing to complain about downvotes, but rather editing to disavow or delete a comment you wish you hadn't made (usually days or weeks later). I have lots of old comments that I find embarrassing now.

DashRattlesnake 10y ago

One way to work around this is to not cling to a permanent pseudonyms identity, and instead drop and recreate them occasionally. No one will care if you said a stupid thing for very long if you never build up an identity. Obviously, that doesn't work very well if you're some kind of celebrity wishing to make a statement or want to build up e-friends over time.