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I feel like HN should implement a "positive-only" or "constructive-only" flag for posts, whether set by posters or moderators. Perhaps all Show HN. Start to e

I feel like HN should implement a "positive-only" or "constructive-only" flag for posts, whether set by posters or moderators. Perhaps all Show HN. Start to experiment, see what sticks.

rhacker 8y ago
It would be great to have a sliding scale Mean comments allowable: 0 --x--------- 100 15
- yjftsjthsd-h 8y ago
  Isn't this almost exactly what slashdot has?
TomMckenny 8y ago
It is a pity an intellectually curious person's work posted to a forum of presumably intellectually curious people gets a bit beat up. George Bernard Shaw worked out a new alphabet too. Tolkien built a language for books about goblins and elves. I can't image how they would be greeted. But perhaps it's just a bad day or hour or something.
- coryrc 8y ago
  Had Tolkien not been "bit beat up" he would have written the whole thing in Qenya and no one would have ever heard of it.
- umanwizard 8y ago
  Tolkien did not claim that his invented language was better than English and should replace it.
IgorPartola 8y ago
I think generally we should strive for positive comments. But I have seen some pretty terrible Show HN’s. To be clear, they are the minority. But there are some that are basically “I will put drug dealing sex workers on the blockchain using Tor” or similar where I think it is warranted to point out that it’s a terrible idea or terrible execution or both.
nothrabannosir 8y ago
A problem with HN is that the rules essentially incentivise this behaviour: if you simply think something is good, you cannot say so until someone else said it was not. “This is great “ is not a good comment. So people upvote instead. But scores are hidden , so you can’t see that from the outside. you can see this effect in action on your own posts : 10 upvotes, 1 critique. From the outside however, it just looks like “HN is at it again!” Sure, people could say “this is good because X”, just as they should with critique , anyway. But that’s not how we think : it’s easier to motivate why you don’t like something than why you do. I think HN is much more positive than it seems. We just need to find a way to stop hiding it.

I feel like HN should implement a "positive-only" or "constructive-only" flag for posts, whether set by posters or moderators. Perhaps all Show HN. Start to experiment, see what sticks.

rhacker 8y ago

It would be great to have a sliding scale Mean comments allowable: 0 --x--------- 100 15

yjftsjthsd-h 8y ago
Isn't this almost exactly what slashdot has?

TomMckenny 8y ago

It is a pity an intellectually curious person's work posted to a forum of presumably intellectually curious people gets a bit beat up. George Bernard Shaw worked out a new alphabet too. Tolkien built a language for books about goblins and elves. I can't image how they would be greeted. But perhaps it's just a bad day or hour or something.

coryrc 8y ago
Had Tolkien not been "bit beat up" he would have written the whole thing in Qenya and no one would have ever heard of it.
umanwizard 8y ago
Tolkien did not claim that his invented language was better than English and should replace it.

IgorPartola 8y ago

I think generally we should strive for positive comments. But I have seen some pretty terrible Show HN’s. To be clear, they are the minority. But there are some that are basically “I will put drug dealing sex workers on the blockchain using Tor” or similar where I think it is warranted to point out that it’s a terrible idea or terrible execution or both.

nothrabannosir 8y ago

A problem with HN is that the rules essentially incentivise this behaviour: if you simply think something is good, you cannot say so until someone else said it was not. “This is great “ is not a good comment. So people upvote instead. But scores are hidden , so you can’t see that from the outside. you can see this effect in action on your own posts : 10 upvotes, 1 critique. From the outside however, it just looks like “HN is at it again!” Sure, people could say “this is good because X”, just as they should with critique , anyway. But that’s not how we think : it’s easier to motivate why you don’t like something than why you do. I think HN is much more positive than it seems. We just need to find a way to stop hiding it.