4 ms·

Perhaps, but what seems to work better in HN is that the "score" is private to the OP (Until a certain downvote threshold). IMO showing a score is unproductive

Perhaps, but what seems to work better in HN is that the "score" is private to the OP (Until a certain downvote threshold). IMO showing a score is unproductive for all parties involved — it encourages up/down brigades, and conflates popular opinion with useful discussion.

ravenstine 8y ago
That's true, and an interesting observation. It does look like they're going to show scores, based on the screenshot in the article. One must wonder if their actual intention is to improve the quality of comments or to improve "engagement" by creating an addicting means of detracting from viewpoints a person doesn't like.
mieseratte 8y ago
I, for one, love asking an honest-to-god question on a potentially contentious topic and then watching my score bounce up and down as folks ascribe intent to the question. Perfect example, a few weeks ago someone wrote something along the lines of "Harassing Trump's cabinet is getting results" - now I don't particularly follow the news so I have no idea if anything genuinely came about of the harassment - so I asked "What outcomes have there been?" and I watched that question get downvoted and upvoted oscillating back and forth until several hours later someone replied that Scott Pruit had resigned, stating the harassment as the reason why at which point I thanked the replier for actually taking the time to provide a constructive response. Too often folks just assume intent for every little comment or question and use a downvote to say "I don't like your opinion" regardless of how valid or invalid it may be. I've been own Hacker News for many years, and it's definitely gotten worse, but this has always been a bit of a bastion of maturity. Not always, but it's better than discussing on Reddit and watching the Dunning-Kruger effect in real-time. I can only imagine Facebook with downvotes will be another rehash of Reddit comments. The beauty of Facebook not having a fire-and-forget downvote system is that it actually requires one to write out their displeasure so it at least forces some semblance of dialogue.
- ravenstine 8y ago
  It's pretty funny when you see a comment oscillate back and forth. I've theorized that this is because of different time zones, where a certain group of people with their own culture are logging on to HN and upvoting posts they appreciate, and while those people leave work or go to bed another group of people in a different state or country logs in and downvote what they believe is wrong. What I don't like about downvoting is the possibility that my post will disappear. I understand that there's a utility to it, but I almost never write comments with the intent to troll people so it's tragic for me to write something honest only for it to be banished and never taken seriously by the few people out there who might actually do so or benefit from what I have to say. If that never happened, I'd just think downvotes are funny. I'm sure I've knee-jerk downvoted before, but I usually only downvote if there's something off-topic or uncivil. I don't even downvote most jokes, although I know there's a thing about joking here.
- djdjxjxndjxjxj 8y ago
  How about: No comments on shared content. Only comments on content you generate yourself. ? Full
  - mieseratte 8y ago
    > How about: No comments on shared content. Only comments on content you generate yourself. ? > Full I understand all of the words but I can't figure out how to read this. What are you getting at here?
- mmt 8y ago
  > I, for one, love asking an honest-to-god question on a potentially contentious topic and then watching my score bounce up and down as folks ascribe intent to the question. Personally, I don't love that one bit [1], so if I'm asking a genuine question on contentious topic, where my actual intent is to get an answer from someone more knowledgable than me, I make sure to specify that intent, including professing my ignorance and disclaiming any preconceived notions. One might argue that I shouldn't have to do that, but that's sort of pointless. I'm happy to do whatever it takes to get an honest answer faster, such I might be able to participate more meaningfully in the thread. I've found HN threads to be very ephemeral (and the fact that it's still possible to reply after 2+ days, when there's no notification system, to be a bit bizarre). [1] Not because I care about karma but because my goal is to engage in conversation that gratifies intellectual curiosity, rather than attracting clicks on the up or down arrows.

ravenstine 8y ago

That's true, and an interesting observation. It does look like they're going to show scores, based on the screenshot in the article. One must wonder if their actual intention is to improve the quality of comments or to improve "engagement" by creating an addicting means of detracting from viewpoints a person doesn't like.

mieseratte 8y ago

I, for one, love asking an honest-to-god question on a potentially contentious topic and then watching my score bounce up and down as folks ascribe intent to the question. Perfect example, a few weeks ago someone wrote something along the lines of "Harassing Trump's cabinet is getting results" - now I don't particularly follow the news so I have no idea if anything genuinely came about of the harassment - so I asked "What outcomes have there been?" and I watched that question get downvoted and upvoted oscillating back and forth until several hours later someone replied that Scott Pruit had resigned, stating the harassment as the reason why at which point I thanked the replier for actually taking the time to provide a constructive response. Too often folks just assume intent for every little comment or question and use a downvote to say "I don't like your opinion" regardless of how valid or invalid it may be. I've been own Hacker News for many years, and it's definitely gotten worse, but this has always been a bit of a bastion of maturity. Not always, but it's better than discussing on Reddit and watching the Dunning-Kruger effect in real-time. I can only imagine Facebook with downvotes will be another rehash of Reddit comments. The beauty of Facebook not having a fire-and-forget downvote system is that it actually requires one to write out their displeasure so it at least forces some semblance of dialogue.

ravenstine 8y ago
It's pretty funny when you see a comment oscillate back and forth. I've theorized that this is because of different time zones, where a certain group of people with their own culture are logging on to HN and upvoting posts they appreciate, and while those people leave work or go to bed another group of people in a different state or country logs in and downvote what they believe is wrong. What I don't like about downvoting is the possibility that my post will disappear. I understand that there's a utility to it, but I almost never write comments with the intent to troll people so it's tragic for me to write something honest only for it to be banished and never taken seriously by the few people out there who might actually do so or benefit from what I have to say. If that never happened, I'd just think downvotes are funny. I'm sure I've knee-jerk downvoted before, but I usually only downvote if there's something off-topic or uncivil. I don't even downvote most jokes, although I know there's a thing about joking here.
djdjxjxndjxjxj 8y ago
How about: No comments on shared content. Only comments on content you generate yourself. ? Full
- mieseratte 8y ago
  > How about: No comments on shared content. Only comments on content you generate yourself. ? > Full I understand all of the words but I can't figure out how to read this. What are you getting at here?
mmt 8y ago
> I, for one, love asking an honest-to-god question on a potentially contentious topic and then watching my score bounce up and down as folks ascribe intent to the question. Personally, I don't love that one bit [1], so if I'm asking a genuine question on contentious topic, where my actual intent is to get an answer from someone more knowledgable than me, I make sure to specify that intent, including professing my ignorance and disclaiming any preconceived notions. One might argue that I shouldn't have to do that, but that's sort of pointless. I'm happy to do whatever it takes to get an honest answer faster, such I might be able to participate more meaningfully in the thread. I've found HN threads to be very ephemeral (and the fact that it's still possible to reply after 2+ days, when there's no notification system, to be a bit bizarre). [1] Not because I care about karma but because my goal is to engage in conversation that gratifies intellectual curiosity, rather than attracting clicks on the up or down arrows.