5 ms·

I know we don't love reddit here, but it's the first online source I could find for Edward Abbey's hilarious review of ZAMM: https://www.reddit.com/r/CalamariR

I know we don't love reddit here, but it's the first online source I could find for Edward Abbey's hilarious review of ZAMM: https://www.reddit.com/r/CalamariRaceTeam/comments/5bij42/zen_and_the_art_of_motorcycle_maintenance_a_review/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CalamariRaceTeam/comments/5bij42/ze... Yeah, I know, allegedly written by "Dave Harleyson". Count me among the skeptical.

jonpurdy 7y ago
If, like me, you started but didn't finish ZAMM, that review is absolutely hilarious and a must-read.
- stevenwoo 7y ago
  I found it takes a weird turn after 2/3 or so that made me dislike it but maybe that is just me 30 years ago, and I only read it once. It reminded me in a way of Life of Pi. It starts as one type of book and starts morphing.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
taneq 7y ago
That's the book review version of those jokes where someone writes to the agony aunt about some relationship drama and the response is all about what might be wrong with their carburetor.
70rd 7y ago
Why do we dislike Reddit?
- Wh1zz 7y ago
  I'm guessing because the content/comments are generally lower quality/effort.
- drunken-serval 7y ago
  Because Reddit doesn’t follow Hacker News guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html I think this one is the biggest difference: “Be kind. Don't be snarky. Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive.”
- dmix 7y ago
  Most of the big subreddits are cultural wastelands of lowest common denominators circle-jerking each other over cheap jokes and obvious-tier opinions, while serious discussions are pushed to the wayside. That plus hyper-sensitive moderation (one group of pre-established opinions allowed per subreddit sort of thing, and any people who disagree get banned, even in something innocuous like a city's subreddit). I still love Reddit occasionally for the smaller subreddits, but Reddit showcases some of the worst parts of humanity, especially as it continues to grow, and often gives into temptations that are were largely resisted in past forms of media and communication.
imgabe 7y ago
Reddit was a YC company. Why don't we like Reddit?
- warent 7y ago
  Extreme herd mentality. The community often values base, emotional instinct over logic and rationality. Glib responses are typically more highly valued than thoughtful replies.
  - asveikau 7y ago
    I couldn't tell which community you were talking about there. I sometimes feel like this community dresses up its expression of base, emotional instinct and herd mentality by trying to pass it off as logic and rationality.
    - warent 7y ago
      It goes without saying that in the end we're all apes and no system is perfect. I think many would agree that with HN there is at least a consistent effort to strive for higher ideals.
- dang 7y ago
  Reddit's incredible. We're just focusing on a different sort of information and discussion here. For those who might not know: Reddit was pg's idea, which he suggested to Steve and Alexis. Once it started to become popular, Reddit became less interesting for him personally to read (plus they stopped implementing his feature requests), so he made HN. In that sense "not being Reddit" is one of the founding impulses of this site. But there were others too, like wanting a watercooler for the startup world, and wanting to write a web app in Arc. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20reddit%20sibling&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
  - imgabe 7y ago
    I agree it's a different sort of vibe, and Reddit depends heavily on which sub you're looking at. I'm just objecting that liking one precludes liking the other. I post on both and get different things from each. One can appreciate both Shakespeare and the Three Stooges
jacobolus 7y ago
This is some of the most stilted writing I have ever read, like a high school writing assignment gone wrong. The author was trying way too hard to be cute with the biker thing, and the result is cringeworthy.

jonpurdy 7y ago

If, like me, you started but didn't finish ZAMM, that review is absolutely hilarious and a must-read.

stevenwoo 7y ago
I found it takes a weird turn after 2/3 or so that made me dislike it but maybe that is just me 30 years ago, and I only read it once. It reminded me in a way of Life of Pi. It starts as one type of book and starts morphing.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

taneq 7y ago

That's the book review version of those jokes where someone writes to the agony aunt about some relationship drama and the response is all about what might be wrong with their carburetor.

70rd 7y ago

Why do we dislike Reddit?

Wh1zz 7y ago
I'm guessing because the content/comments are generally lower quality/effort.
drunken-serval 7y ago
Because Reddit doesn’t follow Hacker News guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html I think this one is the biggest difference: “Be kind. Don't be snarky. Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive.”
dmix 7y ago
Most of the big subreddits are cultural wastelands of lowest common denominators circle-jerking each other over cheap jokes and obvious-tier opinions, while serious discussions are pushed to the wayside. That plus hyper-sensitive moderation (one group of pre-established opinions allowed per subreddit sort of thing, and any people who disagree get banned, even in something innocuous like a city's subreddit). I still love Reddit occasionally for the smaller subreddits, but Reddit showcases some of the worst parts of humanity, especially as it continues to grow, and often gives into temptations that are were largely resisted in past forms of media and communication.

imgabe 7y ago

Reddit was a YC company. Why don't we like Reddit?

warent 7y ago
Extreme herd mentality. The community often values base, emotional instinct over logic and rationality. Glib responses are typically more highly valued than thoughtful replies.
- asveikau 7y ago
  I couldn't tell which community you were talking about there. I sometimes feel like this community dresses up its expression of base, emotional instinct and herd mentality by trying to pass it off as logic and rationality.
  - warent 7y ago
    It goes without saying that in the end we're all apes and no system is perfect. I think many would agree that with HN there is at least a consistent effort to strive for higher ideals.
dang 7y ago
Reddit's incredible. We're just focusing on a different sort of information and discussion here. For those who might not know: Reddit was pg's idea, which he suggested to Steve and Alexis. Once it started to become popular, Reddit became less interesting for him personally to read (plus they stopped implementing his feature requests), so he made HN. In that sense "not being Reddit" is one of the founding impulses of this site. But there were others too, like wanting a watercooler for the startup world, and wanting to write a web app in Arc. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20reddit%20sibling&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
- imgabe 7y ago
  I agree it's a different sort of vibe, and Reddit depends heavily on which sub you're looking at. I'm just objecting that liking one precludes liking the other. I post on both and get different things from each. One can appreciate both Shakespeare and the Three Stooges

jacobolus 7y ago

This is some of the most stilted writing I have ever read, like a high school writing assignment gone wrong. The author was trying way too hard to be cute with the biker thing, and the result is cringeworthy.