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I hate this assumption that everybody on HN is stupid. We're not. HN is one of the smartest communities on the internet. I'm not saying that everybody here i
by blhack 15y ago
I hate this assumption that everybody on HN is stupid. We're not. HN is one of the smartest communities on the internet.
I'm not saying that everybody here is completely immune to what you're talking about, but this isn't digg. We're not just going to heap on the downvotes because we're trying to follow the pack. In fact I've found the opposite to be true; HNers seem to be really good about correcting downvotes. Compare the bottom comments here to the bottom comments at reddit if you don't believe me.
And what you're saying isn't fixed by hiding vote counts, downvoted comments still appear grayed out.
- docgnome 15y agoI agree with what you're saying, but I'm not entirely sure this is a totally conscious reflex. I'd be interested in seeing a study where comments are rated with one set showing a low or negative score, the same comment with a high score, and then again with a neutral score. Given to three different groups of course.
- rexreed 15y agoI agree that we're smart. That's why I think we can all read things. Points add little value to a good comment, or detract substantially from a bad one. If you don't have time to read, you shouldn't be participating in an active forum like this.
- blhack 15y agoDo you also apply this logic to books in a library? How do you choose which ones to read? Do you read all of them? I think if you don't have time to read all of the books and judge them on their merits, then you shouldn't be participating in an activity like reading books.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- phaylon 15y agoIf I'm interested in a book, I tend to read user reviews. A "351 people said this book is great" note won't help me much. I do the same thing for electronics. And most other things too, when the number of choices isn't very limited already, come to think of it.