4 ms·

OK reading the Medium post [0] I see that toxic comments were the starting points here, not the rampant practice of closing questions for dubious reasons. [0]

• shagie 8y ago
  I believe that these comments exist when the other tools of moderation of that content have run out and the individuals are using the social moderation tools of comments (that are nearly unlimited) to do that moderation. I further believe that this rudeness could be reduced by improving the encoded moderation tools (votes, close, delete) so that such questionsget up front mentoring or guidance on how to search for the material before they are posted. It should also be noted that the author of the post has a consulting service for improving diversity in the workplace (second paragraph) - there is a promotional aspect to this post. Stack Overflow, as a very central and large place that people perceive as being jerks is an easy and large target to push against. It is also interesting that while this is being held up as an example (from the post): > I used vivid imagery, sure, but you’ll notice that in all my criticism of Stack Overflow, I avoid name-calling, personal attacks, and profanity. For the record, I do not endorse any criticism of Stack Overflow that resorts to these tactics, though I do feel compassion for the pain that leads to this kind of response. that posts on HN ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16936221 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16936221 ) are not being held up to the same standard of avoiding name calling, personal attacks and profanity.