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So assume it's that your comment fell into the "noise" category and work harder on producing "signal" next time. We don't need to have a discussion every time s
by swolchok 16y ago
So assume it's that your comment fell into the "noise" category and work harder on producing "signal" next time. We don't need to have a discussion every time someone felt that some post did not contribute sufficiently to the discussion.
- binspace 16y agoHow about this for a HN feature. If your post is < 1, add a link to a page about downvoted comments. That way, the person who was downvoted has an opportunity to read about some common reasons why a post was downvoted, read tips on making better comments, and has more time to emotionally process being downvoted.
- binspace 16y agoIronically, the comment above is an accidental implementation of this feature. It is currently at 0 points, and has a link to the HN policy as a link.
- bpyne 16y agoThe noise category assumption is a fair one. "Work harder" is a vague recommendation. Are there more specific recommendations you could make? No, a discussion would create noise, which would not be valuable for the HN community. A voluntary, anonymous, tip about what made the downvoted comment noise would be more than sufficient. To avoid it becoming a discussion, no reply would be allowed. (Just to throw a half-baked idea out.) Downvotes could easily become learning exercises that boost the comment quality over time.
- swolchok 16y agoThe noise category assumption is a fair one. "Work harder" is a vague recommendation. Are there more specific recommendations you could make? Don't post just because you can. Don't echo comments others have made. Don't post "obligatory" comments or content-free Reddit memes. Say something meaningful that is not immediately obvious. Don't treat post writing as an exercise in upvotability optimization.