4 ms·

sigh downvotes for trying to be helpful.

kick 7y ago
While I can't speak for people who downmodded it initially, it was probably downmodded because "sarcastic acronym guessing game" is a trope on this site that people see frequently and are getting tired of: it seems like it at first glance, especially given that there were already people implying it was a programming language by the time you sent your comment. However, APL is niche, so you probably were well-intentioned rather than playing a part in that. It's hard on Internet forums to see if something is genuine or sarcastic, so sometimes even the nicest comments get downmodded. That said, complaining about them only invites more. You have a higher chance of getting back to a positive score by not bringing it up, and it's against the News Guidelines to, anyway: Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html If you're consistently posting good, helpful or kind stuff to the site, it almost always outweighs downmodded comments in due time, so don't sweat it!
- ColanR 7y ago
  Only reason I upvoted his comment is because he pointed out his helpful intention and the resulting downvotes.
- gpvos 7y ago
  The programming language is the first thing I think of when I see "APL", and the others are unknown to me, but I still would have upvoted if phaedryx had just posted "APL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APL_(programming_language)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APL_(programming_language)" or similar, and put the rest of the post below that. Starting out with the wrong hits is very distracting. The self-deprecation at the end is also totally unnecessary.
- phaedryx 7y ago
  Yeah, I was sincere. I thought it was a Public License of some sort. Never would have guessed that "APL" was "A Programming Language" without searching. Now I know a little more about what is acceptable, I guess.

kick 7y ago

While I can't speak for people who downmodded it initially, it was probably downmodded because "sarcastic acronym guessing game" is a trope on this site that people see frequently and are getting tired of: it seems like it at first glance, especially given that there were already people implying it was a programming language by the time you sent your comment. However, APL is niche, so you probably were well-intentioned rather than playing a part in that. It's hard on Internet forums to see if something is genuine or sarcastic, so sometimes even the nicest comments get downmodded. That said, complaining about them only invites more. You have a higher chance of getting back to a positive score by not bringing it up, and it's against the News Guidelines to, anyway: Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html If you're consistently posting good, helpful or kind stuff to the site, it almost always outweighs downmodded comments in due time, so don't sweat it!

ColanR 7y ago
Only reason I upvoted his comment is because he pointed out his helpful intention and the resulting downvotes.
gpvos 7y ago
The programming language is the first thing I think of when I see "APL", and the others are unknown to me, but I still would have upvoted if phaedryx had just posted "APL = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APL_(programming_language)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APL_(programming_language)" or similar, and put the rest of the post below that. Starting out with the wrong hits is very distracting. The self-deprecation at the end is also totally unnecessary.
phaedryx 7y ago
Yeah, I was sincere. I thought it was a Public License of some sort. Never would have guessed that "APL" was "A Programming Language" without searching. Now I know a little more about what is acceptable, I guess.