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>> SO has never quite cracked the "be nice" rule. From my experience, the thing with online forums, whether they be about programming, photography, coffee or w

>> SO has never quite cracked the "be nice" rule. From my experience, the thing with online forums, whether they be about programming, photography, coffee or whatnot is that they seem to be dominated by people who think they are "the smartest guys in the room". Those people tend to be less nice to people who don't think like them. It's even worse when they wield a little power, like the ability to downvote.

spookthesunset 9y ago
HN included. I cringe every time I read some comment here saying something to the effect of “I’m sure almost everybody here was a gifted child, is super smart and makes a half million a year...”. Literally every forum I’ve been on has some variant of this. Joel’s old forums had the same comments, slashdot, Kuro5hin, everything.... Everybody wants to think they are above average.
- bitwize 9y ago
  Yeah, I always smile bitterly when I see "Any halfway decent programmer shouldn't have trouble landing a new job in 1-2 weeks."
rectang 9y ago
We are also now coming to understand the extent to which text-based forums prevent participants from witnessing the human reactions to their communications, both positive and negative. Nearly everyone is worse online than in person.
- slantyyz 9y ago
  What you're saying is true -- sarcasm, English as a second language, etc. can heavily influence meaning and interpretation of a message. On the other hand, there are plenty of negative opinionated commentary that is given under the guise of being expert advice that doesn't even attempt to be nuanced. I'll avoid using an HN example, but on photography forums, it's not unusual for people to say stuff like "If it's not full-frame, it's not a real camera", or "Everyone needs a #mm fast prime" as though they are facts, not opinions.
IWeldMelons 9y ago
SO stands out among the other forums on SE. Mathoverflow, math.SE, even Serverfault and UnixLinux.SE are so much friendlier and nicer.

spookthesunset 9y ago

HN included. I cringe every time I read some comment here saying something to the effect of “I’m sure almost everybody here was a gifted child, is super smart and makes a half million a year...”. Literally every forum I’ve been on has some variant of this. Joel’s old forums had the same comments, slashdot, Kuro5hin, everything.... Everybody wants to think they are above average.

bitwize 9y ago
Yeah, I always smile bitterly when I see "Any halfway decent programmer shouldn't have trouble landing a new job in 1-2 weeks."

rectang 9y ago

We are also now coming to understand the extent to which text-based forums prevent participants from witnessing the human reactions to their communications, both positive and negative. Nearly everyone is worse online than in person.

slantyyz 9y ago
What you're saying is true -- sarcasm, English as a second language, etc. can heavily influence meaning and interpretation of a message. On the other hand, there are plenty of negative opinionated commentary that is given under the guise of being expert advice that doesn't even attempt to be nuanced. I'll avoid using an HN example, but on photography forums, it's not unusual for people to say stuff like "If it's not full-frame, it's not a real camera", or "Everyone needs a #mm fast prime" as though they are facts, not opinions.

IWeldMelons 9y ago

SO stands out among the other forums on SE. Mathoverflow, math.SE, even Serverfault and UnixLinux.SE are so much friendlier and nicer.