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I don't know why this is getting downvoted. It's not like cynicism with respect to the financial industry in America isn't a perfectly logical position to... oh

I don't know why this is getting downvoted. It's not like cynicism with respect to the financial industry in America isn't a perfectly logical position to... oh right HN is about 80% libertarian troglodytes who don't have a single thought they didn't read in a book by Ayn Rand. Carry on.

redthrowaway 16y ago
This comment really adds nothing to the discussion. I imagine if people were downvoting the parent comment, it is because they made an extraordinary claim (GS is immune to US law), without providing any evidence. We're downvoting you because you's trollin'.
- bluedanieru 16y ago
  Not really trolling, at least not intentionally. The parent was glib, sure, but I see comments such as that all the time in more technical discussions on HN and they pass unremarked or even upvoted. Yet when it happens in a political discussion people lose their shit because we're all expected to be a bunch of little Montesquieus around here nowadays. Fine, GS is not literally immune to US law, but surely you can imagine how someone might think that, in certain respects, they may as well be or they appear to be. And there is nothing wrong with making a snarky comment to that effect when it is clearly not meant to be taken literally. I don't know if HN was always like this and we have more political links on here recently, or if it's a change in membership composition, but from what I can tell the range of allowed opinion in political discussion has greatly narrowed over the past six months or so compared to that in technical discussion. And that's too bad.
  - rglullis 16y ago
    I am voting it down because it is a snarky comment. Just that. One-liners are usually downvoted, no matter the political stance they take.
  - steveklabnik 16y ago
    I made a relatively anti-capitalist comment last night and got voted up. I dislike the 'finance industry,' yet I voted your above comment (the second one, not the original) down. It's about how you say it, not what you say. Also, you can't particularly be upset if the vast majority of startup founders are super pro capitalism; this is sorta ground zero for all of that, eh?
    - bluedanieru 16y ago
      Well, I don't think there have been any anti-capitalist statements made here, unless you consider Wall Street an example of capitalism. And, I don't see any conflict between being a startup founder and suggesting that Wall Street does more harm than good.
      - steveklabnik 16y ago
        I was just making an example of something that would be outside of the general 'groupthink' of HN.
        redthrowaway 16y ago
        I've made quite a few comments that were upvoted detailing things I learned on 4chan and what I like about that site. I'd think it's safe to say 4chan is not highly regarded around here. The key is to present your views in a way that people on HN will appreciate, say, to satisfy their intellectual curiosity. If I say, "4chan FTW, lulz!", I will get downvoted, and rightly so. Compare: "I think a lot of people on HN tend to dismiss 4chan as juvenile and immature without giving due regard to its tremendous creative potential and brand recognition. Just look at the Cheezburger Network, a multimillion dollar company whose sole business model is to recycle 4chan memes. Additionally, it would be hard to name a site as seemingly pointless as 4chan that enjoys its popularity or notoriety. Even Someething Awful, which arguably did what 4chan does, but better, never enjoyed the number of users or visibility that 4chan does. It's clear they're doing something right, even if they manage to piss just about everyone off." Now I've presented a contrarian opinion in a way that presents a clear argument for why I hold it. These types of posts are far more palatable to people who, really, are just looking for interesting things to think about.
danenania 16y ago
Ayn Rand would hate GS.
- chopsueyar 16y ago
  Even if run by Midas Mulligan?
  - hexis 16y ago
    Yes, if Midas Mulligan ran GS he would become Robert Stadler.
    - redthrowaway 16y ago
      I didn't get through much of Atlas Shrugged, but I'd have to agree with this. Rand didn't admire large corporations, she admired the highly talented individuals that (supposedly) made corporations successful despite themselves.

redthrowaway 16y ago

This comment really adds nothing to the discussion. I imagine if people were downvoting the parent comment, it is because they made an extraordinary claim (GS is immune to US law), without providing any evidence. We're downvoting you because you's trollin'.

bluedanieru 16y ago
Not really trolling, at least not intentionally. The parent was glib, sure, but I see comments such as that all the time in more technical discussions on HN and they pass unremarked or even upvoted. Yet when it happens in a political discussion people lose their shit because we're all expected to be a bunch of little Montesquieus around here nowadays. Fine, GS is not literally immune to US law, but surely you can imagine how someone might think that, in certain respects, they may as well be or they appear to be. And there is nothing wrong with making a snarky comment to that effect when it is clearly not meant to be taken literally. I don't know if HN was always like this and we have more political links on here recently, or if it's a change in membership composition, but from what I can tell the range of allowed opinion in political discussion has greatly narrowed over the past six months or so compared to that in technical discussion. And that's too bad.
- rglullis 16y ago
  I am voting it down because it is a snarky comment. Just that. One-liners are usually downvoted, no matter the political stance they take.
- steveklabnik 16y ago
  I made a relatively anti-capitalist comment last night and got voted up. I dislike the 'finance industry,' yet I voted your above comment (the second one, not the original) down. It's about how you say it, not what you say. Also, you can't particularly be upset if the vast majority of startup founders are super pro capitalism; this is sorta ground zero for all of that, eh?
  - bluedanieru 16y ago
    Well, I don't think there have been any anti-capitalist statements made here, unless you consider Wall Street an example of capitalism. And, I don't see any conflict between being a startup founder and suggesting that Wall Street does more harm than good.
    - steveklabnik 16y ago
      I was just making an example of something that would be outside of the general 'groupthink' of HN.
      - redthrowaway 16y ago
        I've made quite a few comments that were upvoted detailing things I learned on 4chan and what I like about that site. I'd think it's safe to say 4chan is not highly regarded around here. The key is to present your views in a way that people on HN will appreciate, say, to satisfy their intellectual curiosity. If I say, "4chan FTW, lulz!", I will get downvoted, and rightly so. Compare: "I think a lot of people on HN tend to dismiss 4chan as juvenile and immature without giving due regard to its tremendous creative potential and brand recognition. Just look at the Cheezburger Network, a multimillion dollar company whose sole business model is to recycle 4chan memes. Additionally, it would be hard to name a site as seemingly pointless as 4chan that enjoys its popularity or notoriety. Even Someething Awful, which arguably did what 4chan does, but better, never enjoyed the number of users or visibility that 4chan does. It's clear they're doing something right, even if they manage to piss just about everyone off." Now I've presented a contrarian opinion in a way that presents a clear argument for why I hold it. These types of posts are far more palatable to people who, really, are just looking for interesting things to think about.

danenania 16y ago

Ayn Rand would hate GS.

chopsueyar 16y ago
Even if run by Midas Mulligan?
- hexis 16y ago
  Yes, if Midas Mulligan ran GS he would become Robert Stadler.
  - redthrowaway 16y ago
    I didn't get through much of Atlas Shrugged, but I'd have to agree with this. Rand didn't admire large corporations, she admired the highly talented individuals that (supposedly) made corporations successful despite themselves.