5 ms·

I don't want you to take this personally, but your post seems very low effort. How can we devote time to helping you if you only put 10 seconds into making this

I don't want you to take this personally, but your post seems very low effort. How can we devote time to helping you if you only put 10 seconds into making this post without reviewing it? For one, writing skills are important. You will have a hard time selling your project to anyone on its merits if you write incomplete sentences with lackluster English. Second, you haven't taken the time to list out what your strengths and domains are, therefore HN can't leverage its vast knowledge to point you in the right direction. If you want to build a useful project, you'll need to be more detail oriented and persuasive than your post here. Take the time to do things right. Feedback is worth its weight in gold, and you've given us zero to offer feedback upon except for your scanty quick query.

goshx 6y ago
I love how your points make sense and seem reasonable at the same time that they were completely irrelevant to attract the right audience and feedback from the community. A foreigner does not need a perfect English (or English at all) to create and sell a product in their countries. Please keep in mind this is an international community. Foreigners should not be discouraged because of a broken English.
- rabidrat 6y ago
  This is not a "foreigner" or "broken English" problem. I agree with the parent that this was a low-effort post. No details were included, neither emotional nor technical nor interests.
  - kapep 6y ago
    > No details were included, neither emotional nor technical nor interests. Which worked out great, because otherwise most answers would have been specific to OP's emotions and interests and probably wouldn't be that useful to other people. Questions like this don't get upvoted because of the effort put into them. They get upvoted because of the answers they attract. I'm fine with that if it means I get to read some interesting answers.
  - goshx 6y ago
    My point still stands. None of that prevented the post from reaching the front page and bringing a lot of good insights. This is a good reminder that we, as humans, sometimes focus on irrelevant things.
- koheripbal 6y ago
  OP is from New York City according to his linked profile + homepage. It is indeed low effort. Your comment may be more insulting than the one you're replying to :)
DoreenMichele 6y ago
And yet it's got more than 200 votes and more than 100 comments (which is extremely good for an Ask HN). The first rule of writing is "know your audience" and he seems to have that part nailed.
schwartzworld 6y ago
Actually, I think your response is really pathetic. Not everybody is good at writing, and for many, English isn't their first language. If you don't like his question, don't answer, but finger-wagging over commas and punctuation makes you look bad.
- koheripbal 6y ago
  English is OPs first language, based on his profile. I don't think it's too much to ask to just proofread before you submit. That's an important life lesson as well.
  - schwartzworld 6y ago
    It doesn't mean pedantic finger-wagging is an appropriate response to the question. You corrected him because you feel superior. You aren't.
fallenatreus 6y ago
This. Despite being a management graduate and IELTS score of 8 bands I struggle to form cohesive sentences and almost lose the essence of my message especially in online forums like this. I have seen people reply with so much consistency and grammatically well-formed sentences I almost cringe how they have honed their craft to this level. What's the secret? Any ideas on how to work on improving writing skills especially in formal settings & forums. PS: had a boss who was so consistent in his writing that he used to reply in full sentences even on IM with punctuation and all that. I secretly admired him. PPS: Is Grammarly premium worth it?

goshx 6y ago

I love how your points make sense and seem reasonable at the same time that they were completely irrelevant to attract the right audience and feedback from the community. A foreigner does not need a perfect English (or English at all) to create and sell a product in their countries. Please keep in mind this is an international community. Foreigners should not be discouraged because of a broken English.

rabidrat 6y ago
This is not a "foreigner" or "broken English" problem. I agree with the parent that this was a low-effort post. No details were included, neither emotional nor technical nor interests.
- kapep 6y ago
  > No details were included, neither emotional nor technical nor interests. Which worked out great, because otherwise most answers would have been specific to OP's emotions and interests and probably wouldn't be that useful to other people. Questions like this don't get upvoted because of the effort put into them. They get upvoted because of the answers they attract. I'm fine with that if it means I get to read some interesting answers.
- goshx 6y ago
  My point still stands. None of that prevented the post from reaching the front page and bringing a lot of good insights. This is a good reminder that we, as humans, sometimes focus on irrelevant things.
koheripbal 6y ago
OP is from New York City according to his linked profile + homepage. It is indeed low effort. Your comment may be more insulting than the one you're replying to :)

DoreenMichele 6y ago

And yet it's got more than 200 votes and more than 100 comments (which is extremely good for an Ask HN). The first rule of writing is "know your audience" and he seems to have that part nailed.

schwartzworld 6y ago

Actually, I think your response is really pathetic. Not everybody is good at writing, and for many, English isn't their first language. If you don't like his question, don't answer, but finger-wagging over commas and punctuation makes you look bad.

koheripbal 6y ago
English is OPs first language, based on his profile. I don't think it's too much to ask to just proofread before you submit. That's an important life lesson as well.
- schwartzworld 6y ago
  It doesn't mean pedantic finger-wagging is an appropriate response to the question. You corrected him because you feel superior. You aren't.

fallenatreus 6y ago

This. Despite being a management graduate and IELTS score of 8 bands I struggle to form cohesive sentences and almost lose the essence of my message especially in online forums like this. I have seen people reply with so much consistency and grammatically well-formed sentences I almost cringe how they have honed their craft to this level. What's the secret? Any ideas on how to work on improving writing skills especially in formal settings & forums. PS: had a boss who was so consistent in his writing that he used to reply in full sentences even on IM with punctuation and all that. I secretly admired him. PPS: Is Grammarly premium worth it?