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I also notice HN voting tends to punish very brief positive comments. Sometimes it's nice to see some positive encouragement, even if the comment doesn't go int

I also notice HN voting tends to punish very brief positive comments. Sometimes it's nice to see some positive encouragement, even if the comment doesn't go into any deeper analysis or constructive criticism.

onion2k 7y ago
I don't downvote comments like "I agree!" and "This is good." but I often feel like I should. They're mostly noise. If you want to express gratitude get in touch with the article author. It'll have much more impact.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- dang 7y ago
  Empty comments can be ok if they're positive. There's nothing wrong with submitting a comment saying just "Thanks." What we especially discourage are comments that are empty and negative—comments that are mere name-calling. https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html
OJFord 7y ago
Do you mean things like 'Nice!', 'lol', 'Amazing', 'nice I'm going to try this out this weekend', etc? It's because they're devoid of any actual content and uninteresting to every other reader. I agree they might feel nice to the OP in the case of 'Show HNs', but in those cases there's probably another way to reach out (and the higher effort will make it more meaningful). (I could've sworn there was a point in the guidelines on this even using similar language - 'devoid', 'content' - but there doesn't seem to be now. Perhaps I've just read someone commenting something similar a few times!)
- Multicomp 7y ago
  Would you prefer if there were 'reaction' features on a post to aggregate these sorts of comments? Something like: I've bookmarked this for later review, good post (this partially exists as the upvote) I like posts like this (an overload of the upvote) I want to read what other users think of this, but don't necessarily have a comment of my own. HN, please comment (an overload of the upvote as well) I think this post is off-topic (this one exists - its called the downvote for users with ~520+ points) I think this post violates the guidelines (this one also exists - called flag)
  - satvikpendem 7y ago
    That would honestly be preferable. It cuts down the noise, however Facebook-like reactions may seem.
  - OJFord 7y ago
    I'm not sure whether to say 'yes' or 'not really' - like you describe, those exist today? The only thing that's 'missing' is the public declaration; putting one's name to the upvote.
  - smichel17 7y ago
    At https://community.snowdrift.coop https://community.snowdrift.coop we put a lot of thought into reactions[1], specifically about how they promote healthy interaction. There are a few in particular I'd like to highlight: # "Changed my mind" (icon: graduation cap) In most communities, this is a overload of the upvote. But it's a particularly good kind of upvote, the complement of the usual echo-chamber "upvoting because I already agree". The icon+phrasing combo reframes "I lost the debate" into a positive thing, more like "I was educated". It's my far my favorite reaction to receive -- lots of warm fuzzies. In order to avoid confusion/misuse, we did not make this the primary upvote (that's thumbs up, with the verb "appreciate"). # Sympathies (icon: blue ribbon) It's a bit tasteless to "like" or "heart" sad news (eg, someone passed away). At the same time, a downvote isn't appropriate, either. This fills the role of "support for the person posting, not the topic they're posting about". [1]: You can see some of it, as well as the full set, here: https://community.snowdrift.coop/t/custom-emojis-esp-as-retort-reactions/601/15 https://community.snowdrift.coop/t/custom-emojis-esp-as-reto...

onion2k 7y ago

I don't downvote comments like "I agree!" and "This is good." but I often feel like I should. They're mostly noise. If you want to express gratitude get in touch with the article author. It'll have much more impact.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
dang 7y ago
Empty comments can be ok if they're positive. There's nothing wrong with submitting a comment saying just "Thanks." What we especially discourage are comments that are empty and negative—comments that are mere name-calling. https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html

OJFord 7y ago

Do you mean things like 'Nice!', 'lol', 'Amazing', 'nice I'm going to try this out this weekend', etc? It's because they're devoid of any actual content and uninteresting to every other reader. I agree they might feel nice to the OP in the case of 'Show HNs', but in those cases there's probably another way to reach out (and the higher effort will make it more meaningful). (I could've sworn there was a point in the guidelines on this even using similar language - 'devoid', 'content' - but there doesn't seem to be now. Perhaps I've just read someone commenting something similar a few times!)

Multicomp 7y ago
Would you prefer if there were 'reaction' features on a post to aggregate these sorts of comments? Something like: I've bookmarked this for later review, good post (this partially exists as the upvote) I like posts like this (an overload of the upvote) I want to read what other users think of this, but don't necessarily have a comment of my own. HN, please comment (an overload of the upvote as well) I think this post is off-topic (this one exists - its called the downvote for users with ~520+ points) I think this post violates the guidelines (this one also exists - called flag)
- satvikpendem 7y ago
  That would honestly be preferable. It cuts down the noise, however Facebook-like reactions may seem.
- OJFord 7y ago
  I'm not sure whether to say 'yes' or 'not really' - like you describe, those exist today? The only thing that's 'missing' is the public declaration; putting one's name to the upvote.
- smichel17 7y ago
  At https://community.snowdrift.coop https://community.snowdrift.coop we put a lot of thought into reactions[1], specifically about how they promote healthy interaction. There are a few in particular I'd like to highlight: # "Changed my mind" (icon: graduation cap) In most communities, this is a overload of the upvote. But it's a particularly good kind of upvote, the complement of the usual echo-chamber "upvoting because I already agree". The icon+phrasing combo reframes "I lost the debate" into a positive thing, more like "I was educated". It's my far my favorite reaction to receive -- lots of warm fuzzies. In order to avoid confusion/misuse, we did not make this the primary upvote (that's thumbs up, with the verb "appreciate"). # Sympathies (icon: blue ribbon) It's a bit tasteless to "like" or "heart" sad news (eg, someone passed away). At the same time, a downvote isn't appropriate, either. This fills the role of "support for the person posting, not the topic they're posting about". [1]: You can see some of it, as well as the full set, here: https://community.snowdrift.coop/t/custom-emojis-esp-as-retort-reactions/601/15 https://community.snowdrift.coop/t/custom-emojis-esp-as-reto...