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Please do. The lack of capitalization made me close the tab after about two sentences; this just doesn't make it past my "worth reading" filter. Sure, maybe it'

Please do. The lack of capitalization made me close the tab after about two sentences; this just doesn't make it past my "worth reading" filter. Sure, maybe it's good, but I have heuristics like this for a reason, and I'm quite happy to ignore work that simply can't be bother with basic English language norms.

ryanckulp 7y ago
i’m glad you closed the tab — you don’t deserve to read me. keep following fake rules and see where that takes you
- marcinzm 7y ago
  It's not fake rules, its things which make it easier to read a large piece of text. You apparently value being unique and "non rule following" over the comfort and ease of reading of your readers which says a lot imho.
  - jshevek 7y ago
    I think it is unfair of you to assume his motive, and inappropriate to use the idiom normally used to impugn one's character. Would you apply the same reasoning to Cummings?
    - organsnyder 7y ago
      Poetry is much different than prose.
      - jshevek 7y ago
        I don't see how that's relevant, as I was talking about the man, his actions, and the presumption of motive. Cummings disregarded capitalization norms in his prose as well. Edit: Maybe you meant: since Cummings wrote a lot of poetry, he is a special case and therefore can be forgiven for disregarding capitalization norms in his prose?
        bradknowles 7y ago
        It's much more important the quality of the poetry he wrote than the quantity. I can write a program to generate thousands of haikus. Doing so does not make that body of poetry meaningful in any way [0]. [0] Well, other than the fact that it got me a free monogrammed PowerBook G4 Laptop sleeve that was being given away by some people who underestimated the willingness of a younger programmer to beseige them with computer-generated haikus. ;)
        jshevek 7y ago
        Let's keep this in context. Are you saying that Cummings did or did not 'apparently value being unique and "non rule following" over the comfort and ease of reading' ? Edit: Or maybe you are saying that we should only presume motive of people who don't write great works?
    - marcinzm 7y ago
      >I think it is unfair of you to assume his motive, and inappropriate to use the idiom normally used to impugn one's character. The post I replied to basically said that asking for capitalization makes you stickler to pointless rules who won't get far in life. I merely replied in kind to the tone of that post which probably isn't exactly nice of me but I would say it is fair.
  - buzzert 7y ago
    It also lacks professionalism and makes it difficult to take seriously. I certainly hope he doesn’t write emails like this at work.
  - variaga 7y ago
    Indeed. Many years ago, I took a poetry class and on the first day the instructor said (roughly): When E.E. Cummings did not capitalize the word 'I', it was creative and original. You are not E. E. Cummings. If you do not capitalize 'I', you are boring and pretentious. Capitalize your 'I's." Breaking the rules of grammar is good when it adds value to the writing. I don't see how refusing to capitalize added any value here.
    - ryanckulp 7y ago
      #TIL E.E. Cummings has this in common with me
- jshevek 7y ago
  I find your capitalization choices relaxing to read, and allows for better pacing. The critical parent comment was primarily sharing a perspective shared by a subset of potential readers. You can ignore the feedback, but responding with this tone can lead to you being dogpiled by haters.
  - ryanckulp 7y ago
    if author saw my previous comment re adopting a "proper case" toggle view, they could have given me the benefit of the doubt. i definitely want people to read in a format comfortable for them. i also know which rules don't matter
    - fredsanford 7y ago
      >> i definitely want people to read in a format comfortable for them >> i also know which rules don't matter Are you sure? These 2 statements conflict in this context.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - ryanckulp 7y ago
        after years of writing how i want and never getting complaints, then 1 day on HN, i will build a toggle. (aka the problem is you)
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- qzx_pierri 7y ago
  I thought the lack of capitalization made the article seem more down to earth and cozy- Kinda like if a friend sent me a long text. Don’t let the grammar nazis & pedantic condescension on HN deter you. I like the design.
- tptacek 7y ago
  I don't know whether capitalization is a fake rule or not, but civility is a real rule here on HN.
- stringyham 7y ago
  i'm,using,my,own,rules,deal,with,it
205guy 7y ago
To be honest, the author's capitalization didn't bother me, and I didn't notice it until halfway through. Even his comments here are readable to me. However, your heuristic worked because the content of the article was crap. Or to be more charitable: over-promised with a good idea and under-delivered with incompetent data-analysis, mangled conclusions, and ax-grinding (reiterating an opinion that he admits isn't supported by his data). Sadly, it gives us another data point: a person who doesn't follow "fake rules" and totally uses "totes" in comments didn't write a good article. not a good look

ryanckulp 7y ago

i’m glad you closed the tab — you don’t deserve to read me. keep following fake rules and see where that takes you

marcinzm 7y ago
It's not fake rules, its things which make it easier to read a large piece of text. You apparently value being unique and "non rule following" over the comfort and ease of reading of your readers which says a lot imho.
- jshevek 7y ago
  I think it is unfair of you to assume his motive, and inappropriate to use the idiom normally used to impugn one's character. Would you apply the same reasoning to Cummings?
  - organsnyder 7y ago
    Poetry is much different than prose.
    - jshevek 7y ago
      I don't see how that's relevant, as I was talking about the man, his actions, and the presumption of motive. Cummings disregarded capitalization norms in his prose as well. Edit: Maybe you meant: since Cummings wrote a lot of poetry, he is a special case and therefore can be forgiven for disregarding capitalization norms in his prose?
      - bradknowles 7y ago
        It's much more important the quality of the poetry he wrote than the quantity. I can write a program to generate thousands of haikus. Doing so does not make that body of poetry meaningful in any way [0]. [0] Well, other than the fact that it got me a free monogrammed PowerBook G4 Laptop sleeve that was being given away by some people who underestimated the willingness of a younger programmer to beseige them with computer-generated haikus. ;)
        jshevek 7y ago
        Let's keep this in context. Are you saying that Cummings did or did not 'apparently value being unique and "non rule following" over the comfort and ease of reading' ? Edit: Or maybe you are saying that we should only presume motive of people who don't write great works?
  - marcinzm 7y ago
    >I think it is unfair of you to assume his motive, and inappropriate to use the idiom normally used to impugn one's character. The post I replied to basically said that asking for capitalization makes you stickler to pointless rules who won't get far in life. I merely replied in kind to the tone of that post which probably isn't exactly nice of me but I would say it is fair.
- buzzert 7y ago
  It also lacks professionalism and makes it difficult to take seriously. I certainly hope he doesn’t write emails like this at work.
- variaga 7y ago
  Indeed. Many years ago, I took a poetry class and on the first day the instructor said (roughly): When E.E. Cummings did not capitalize the word 'I', it was creative and original. You are not E. E. Cummings. If you do not capitalize 'I', you are boring and pretentious. Capitalize your 'I's." Breaking the rules of grammar is good when it adds value to the writing. I don't see how refusing to capitalize added any value here.
  - ryanckulp 7y ago
    #TIL E.E. Cummings has this in common with me
jshevek 7y ago
I find your capitalization choices relaxing to read, and allows for better pacing. The critical parent comment was primarily sharing a perspective shared by a subset of potential readers. You can ignore the feedback, but responding with this tone can lead to you being dogpiled by haters.
- ryanckulp 7y ago
  if author saw my previous comment re adopting a "proper case" toggle view, they could have given me the benefit of the doubt. i definitely want people to read in a format comfortable for them. i also know which rules don't matter
  - fredsanford 7y ago
    >> i definitely want people to read in a format comfortable for them >> i also know which rules don't matter Are you sure? These 2 statements conflict in this context.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - ryanckulp 7y ago
      after years of writing how i want and never getting complaints, then 1 day on HN, i will build a toggle. (aka the problem is you)
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
qzx_pierri 7y ago
I thought the lack of capitalization made the article seem more down to earth and cozy- Kinda like if a friend sent me a long text. Don’t let the grammar nazis & pedantic condescension on HN deter you. I like the design.
tptacek 7y ago
I don't know whether capitalization is a fake rule or not, but civility is a real rule here on HN.
stringyham 7y ago
i'm,using,my,own,rules,deal,with,it

205guy 7y ago

To be honest, the author's capitalization didn't bother me, and I didn't notice it until halfway through. Even his comments here are readable to me. However, your heuristic worked because the content of the article was crap. Or to be more charitable: over-promised with a good idea and under-delivered with incompetent data-analysis, mangled conclusions, and ax-grinding (reiterating an opinion that he admits isn't supported by his data). Sadly, it gives us another data point: a person who doesn't follow "fake rules" and totally uses "totes" in comments didn't write a good article. not a good look