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You've established yourself here as valuable community member. But this sounds to me like the textbook definition of "kneejerk reaction." You could make a (ca

You've established yourself here as valuable community member. But this sounds to me like the textbook definition of "kneejerk reaction." You could make a (calm!) argument that the author has chosen a poor coping method, but this? No, this comment of yours says a lot more about you than it does about the article.

edw519 18y ago
You've established yourself here as valuable community member. Thank you But this sounds to me like the textbook definition of "kneejerk reaction." Actually, it was anything but. I thought long and hard about my post and was curious what kind of reaction it would elicit. I guess I found out. You could make a (calm!) argument that the author has chosen a poor coping method, but this? I considered that, but obviously didn't. Let me explain... I love this community. It's my virtual home. That's why I responded like I did. In order to glean the signal from the noise, we put up with a lot here. Posts like "not hacker news", posts giving advice learned from a book somewhere, submissions about politics and religion, and unnecessary profanity. I have read most of them and usually chuckled and moved on. Not this time. Lots of people come here, many young and impressionable, looking for all kinds of things. So what is the first thing they saw today? A post from someone who hasn't really accomplished anything important to hackers (as far as I could tell) and who chooses to resort to drugs to get through his day. And then brags about it. I wanted to make it clear in no uncertain terms that there are people who disagree with him and this post has no business here at hn. I could have said the lame "not hacker news", but that hardly would have gotten my point across. We are achievers. We work hard and find a way to produce value for other people, often taking the difficult road instead of the easy way out. This guy's post was IMHO the precise opposite of what I believe and what I hope others believe too. Making it through school using drugs is a smack in the face of those of us who work hard in the real world and assemble here to share it. I simply don't care how anyone wants to live their life. If you want to get high, get drunk, jump out of airplanes, or just sit in front of the TV, go to it. But if you come into my virtual home, I will respond just like I would in my physical home and say, "Take your drugs and get out." I wanted to get people's attention. Do you think it worked? No, this comment of yours says a lot more about you than it does about the article. What does it say about me that my other 2,873 comments don't?

edw519 18y ago

You've established yourself here as valuable community member. Thank you But this sounds to me like the textbook definition of "kneejerk reaction." Actually, it was anything but. I thought long and hard about my post and was curious what kind of reaction it would elicit. I guess I found out. You could make a (calm!) argument that the author has chosen a poor coping method, but this? I considered that, but obviously didn't. Let me explain... I love this community. It's my virtual home. That's why I responded like I did. In order to glean the signal from the noise, we put up with a lot here. Posts like "not hacker news", posts giving advice learned from a book somewhere, submissions about politics and religion, and unnecessary profanity. I have read most of them and usually chuckled and moved on. Not this time. Lots of people come here, many young and impressionable, looking for all kinds of things. So what is the first thing they saw today? A post from someone who hasn't really accomplished anything important to hackers (as far as I could tell) and who chooses to resort to drugs to get through his day. And then brags about it. I wanted to make it clear in no uncertain terms that there are people who disagree with him and this post has no business here at hn. I could have said the lame "not hacker news", but that hardly would have gotten my point across. We are achievers. We work hard and find a way to produce value for other people, often taking the difficult road instead of the easy way out. This guy's post was IMHO the precise opposite of what I believe and what I hope others believe too. Making it through school using drugs is a smack in the face of those of us who work hard in the real world and assemble here to share it. I simply don't care how anyone wants to live their life. If you want to get high, get drunk, jump out of airplanes, or just sit in front of the TV, go to it. But if you come into my virtual home, I will respond just like I would in my physical home and say, "Take your drugs and get out." I wanted to get people's attention. Do you think it worked? No, this comment of yours says a lot more about you than it does about the article. What does it say about me that my other 2,873 comments don't?