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> To be frank, "/s" would have totally ruined it for everyone else. Yes and no. Here on HN I see it everyday: good on-topic jokes get downvoted. I suspect thi

> To be frank, "/s" would have totally ruined it for everyone else. Yes and no. Here on HN I see it everyday: good on-topic jokes get downvoted. I suspect this happens because when people are in "HN mode" there comes a sort of earnestness into their state that makes it hard to detect other tonalities. P.S. I needed the FORTRAN bit until it dawned on me…

brlewis 7y ago
We need a committee to form standards for sarcasm indicator use in various contexts.
- shrimp_emoji 7y ago
  Autism and humor are two irreconcilable elements; attempts to bridge them fare as well as for matter and antimatter.
  - journalctl 7y ago
    I don’t think it’s fair to assume that there’s a higher incidence of autism on HN than elsewhere (bad social skills can also occur in neurotypical people), but hot damn does it really bug me that HN has such a hard time with snark.
    - shantly 7y ago
      It's not just snark—try dropping a colloquial "all" or "none" in a context where that's clearly what it is, and watch ten people rush to correct you that "well, technically..." Or even carefully qualified statements! I think folks here drop "most" and "typically" and similar words as they read. You have to write poorly, qualifying everything three times and disavowing a bunch of stuff you obviously aren't saying or even implying anyway, to make sure you don't get a bunch of pointless comments.
      - therealcamino 7y ago
        Technically correct is the best kind of correct!
    - chipotle_coyote 7y ago
      ...hot damn does it really bug me that HN has such a hard time with snark. Yeah, I've noticed that when I get sarcastic or snarky, it's very often an invitation to being downvoted. I can't tell if it's because people don't get the sarcasm or snarkiness, get it but are offended that I'm using it at all (especially without an "/s"), or are offended that I'm being snarky about [insert sacred technolibertarian cow here]. :)
    - shrimp_emoji 7y ago
      I was using autism colloquially. :3 (The irony)

brlewis 7y ago

We need a committee to form standards for sarcasm indicator use in various contexts.

shrimp_emoji 7y ago
Autism and humor are two irreconcilable elements; attempts to bridge them fare as well as for matter and antimatter.
- journalctl 7y ago
  I don’t think it’s fair to assume that there’s a higher incidence of autism on HN than elsewhere (bad social skills can also occur in neurotypical people), but hot damn does it really bug me that HN has such a hard time with snark.
  - shantly 7y ago
    It's not just snark—try dropping a colloquial "all" or "none" in a context where that's clearly what it is, and watch ten people rush to correct you that "well, technically..." Or even carefully qualified statements! I think folks here drop "most" and "typically" and similar words as they read. You have to write poorly, qualifying everything three times and disavowing a bunch of stuff you obviously aren't saying or even implying anyway, to make sure you don't get a bunch of pointless comments.
    - therealcamino 7y ago
      Technically correct is the best kind of correct!
  - chipotle_coyote 7y ago
    ...hot damn does it really bug me that HN has such a hard time with snark. Yeah, I've noticed that when I get sarcastic or snarky, it's very often an invitation to being downvoted. I can't tell if it's because people don't get the sarcasm or snarkiness, get it but are offended that I'm using it at all (especially without an "/s"), or are offended that I'm being snarky about [insert sacred technolibertarian cow here]. :)
  - shrimp_emoji 7y ago
    I was using autism colloquially. :3 (The irony)