4 ms·

Is humor against HN rules? I regularly see such posts being downvoted and it doesn't make sense to me.

DoreenMichele 8y ago
Most humor can be categorized as "insubstantive comments" and those are discouraged. It is possible to crack a joke here and get it upvoted, but it's hard to pull it off. I even once had a joke upvoted by quite a lot,* like 50 points or something, but most jokes are downvoted not because humor is forbidden, but because insubstantive comments are discouraged. Some humor is downvoted for being uncivil because a lot of humor is basically poking fun at people or mocking them. A lot of humor is not nice at all. HN tries to meet a very high bar for civility. * Under my old handle and it hit 59 points: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14996229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14996229
- noonespecial 8y ago
  Well said. That's about as succinct a sum-up as I've heard. This might actually belong in the FAQ as it might save some folks a bit of confusing cultural acclimation upon arriving at HN from parts distant such as reddit or slashdot (is that still a thing?). At any rate, way better than "harumph! HN hates fun!"
- semi-extrinsic 8y ago
  I posted a joke a couple of days ago about "the Xzibit pattern" which ended up at 10 points, but it fluctuated a lot so it probably got something like 40 up 30 down. Would be interesting to see the breakdown of votes on HN.
  - komali2 8y ago
    I'm just glad you can't see the # of votes here for other comments. Helps prevent bandwagonning, though that still happens for downvotes once the css kicks in.
- tambourine_man 8y ago
  Can I ask why you retired your previous handle?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    The short version is that I made the leaderboard and it looks like a feminist handle. There's more factors involved, but that's the crux of it.
- sandworm101 8y ago
  But if you note my "joke" actually illustrated a point of physics about which at least one person was confused: the expected g-forces. So it wasnt insubstantive, certainly not as insubstantive as the parent comment about elevator music.
thanatos_dem 8y ago
No, it’s not against the rules, but downvotes aren’t there to enforce the rules. It’s just a culture thing. HN tends to be more news and factually focused than reddit/Twitter/etc. People here just prefer to stay on topic, especially since humor is very different between people and can be very hit or miss.
- craigmi 8y ago
  yup, coming here and the top comment actually being something insightful or some point worthy of discussion instead of some sarcastic comment or joke like elsewhere is what makes this place.
  - sandworm101 8y ago
    The use if my joke is evident in the immediate reply, the confusion over g forces. There is no reason an informative comment cannot also be funny.
dang 8y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17482490 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17482490

Most humor can be categorized as "insubstantive comments" and those are discouraged. It is possible to crack a joke here and get it upvoted, but it's hard to pull it off. I even once had a joke upvoted by quite a lot,* like 50 points or something, but most jokes are downvoted not because humor is forbidden, but because insubstantive comments are discouraged. Some humor is downvoted for being uncivil because a lot of humor is basically poking fun at people or mocking them. A lot of humor is not nice at all. HN tries to meet a very high bar for civility. * Under my old handle and it hit 59 points: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14996229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14996229

noonespecial 8y ago
Well said. That's about as succinct a sum-up as I've heard. This might actually belong in the FAQ as it might save some folks a bit of confusing cultural acclimation upon arriving at HN from parts distant such as reddit or slashdot (is that still a thing?). At any rate, way better than "harumph! HN hates fun!"
semi-extrinsic 8y ago
I posted a joke a couple of days ago about "the Xzibit pattern" which ended up at 10 points, but it fluctuated a lot so it probably got something like 40 up 30 down. Would be interesting to see the breakdown of votes on HN.
- komali2 8y ago
  I'm just glad you can't see the # of votes here for other comments. Helps prevent bandwagonning, though that still happens for downvotes once the css kicks in.
tambourine_man 8y ago
Can I ask why you retired your previous handle?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  The short version is that I made the leaderboard and it looks like a feminist handle. There's more factors involved, but that's the crux of it.
sandworm101 8y ago
But if you note my "joke" actually illustrated a point of physics about which at least one person was confused: the expected g-forces. So it wasnt insubstantive, certainly not as insubstantive as the parent comment about elevator music.

thanatos_dem 8y ago

No, it’s not against the rules, but downvotes aren’t there to enforce the rules. It’s just a culture thing. HN tends to be more news and factually focused than reddit/Twitter/etc. People here just prefer to stay on topic, especially since humor is very different between people and can be very hit or miss.

craigmi 8y ago
yup, coming here and the top comment actually being something insightful or some point worthy of discussion instead of some sarcastic comment or joke like elsewhere is what makes this place.
- sandworm101 8y ago
  The use if my joke is evident in the immediate reply, the confusion over g forces. There is no reason an informative comment cannot also be funny.

dang 8y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17482490 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17482490