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There's nothing incorrect or even controversial about what you're saying. It could be your tone, but I suspect that if you share these opinions during peak west

There's nothing incorrect or even controversial about what you're saying. It could be your tone, but I suspect that if you share these opinions during peak west coast hours, e.g. 10am - 7pm pacific time, you're likely to get more upvotes and a more receptive response. There is an odd pattern I've observed where my opinionated comments get a lot of upvotes during the day and evening, and then I wake up the next day to find they've been nearly reversed overnight. There's some kind of ideological split in the the US tech scene and the rest of the world.

zelphirkalt 6y ago
Huh, interesting observation, will keep that in mind, thank you. Basically people build their own bubbles everywhere. If you are the one to poke it, you better prepare for the backlash, I learn once more. I had a hunch initially though, that I would get downvoted for the attempt to distinguish between free and open source though, just like the previous times. However, if I start to self-censor, just because of downvotes, ... imagine if everyone did that. Opinions would go unheard. It is a bad trend. People need to speak up and voice their opinions. I have also noticed, that if one makes a comment, that is purely positive about something, you are much more likely to get upvoted, but as soon as you criticize anything, you run the risk of being massively downvoted ("Please stay positive!"), especially when it is about open source vs free software or when it is about javascript. Perhaps these populations are just bigger and more people will take offense or they are especially touchy about having something criticized. Anyway, I should not care too much about random downvotes on HN. There are more productive ways to spend my day.
- yesenadam 6y ago
  I think anyone would be massively downvoted and flagged whatever the subject, if they talk like you have on this page, going on about how and why you're being downvoted and how people are idiots who should read your noble words more carefully etc. For example > Can you please _read_ what is written and consider it, before writing things, that I already know might be true? ... Ah, you mean _free_ software. Why not be more specific and say that in the first place? ... Would you please read exactly what I wrote, and not go and interpret things and then make claims? ... It seems impossible to have a discussion about this on HN, without being downvoted into oblivion. Obviously there is a rather big population on HN, which does not understand the differences of the two and feels like they need to downvote any comment, that tries to differentiate or point to imprecision in wording. ... Basically people build their own bubbles everywhere. If you are the one to poke it, you better prepare for the backlash, I learn once more. All this adds less than nothing to HN, breaks the guidelines in several ways, and everyone is the poorer for having read them. Aside from the unbearable, self-important whining and pouting, it's not so much what you said as how you say it. It seems common to then create a conspiracy theory where it's all about the what, where downvotes somehow just go to show the writer was right. Even if you were 100% right on this page and everyone else 100% wrong, that's no excuse at all to write as you have. And if you are trying to persuade, ranting at people like that seems the worst possible way.

zelphirkalt 6y ago

Huh, interesting observation, will keep that in mind, thank you. Basically people build their own bubbles everywhere. If you are the one to poke it, you better prepare for the backlash, I learn once more. I had a hunch initially though, that I would get downvoted for the attempt to distinguish between free and open source though, just like the previous times. However, if I start to self-censor, just because of downvotes, ... imagine if everyone did that. Opinions would go unheard. It is a bad trend. People need to speak up and voice their opinions. I have also noticed, that if one makes a comment, that is purely positive about something, you are much more likely to get upvoted, but as soon as you criticize anything, you run the risk of being massively downvoted ("Please stay positive!"), especially when it is about open source vs free software or when it is about javascript. Perhaps these populations are just bigger and more people will take offense or they are especially touchy about having something criticized. Anyway, I should not care too much about random downvotes on HN. There are more productive ways to spend my day.

yesenadam 6y ago
I think anyone would be massively downvoted and flagged whatever the subject, if they talk like you have on this page, going on about how and why you're being downvoted and how people are idiots who should read your noble words more carefully etc. For example > Can you please _read_ what is written and consider it, before writing things, that I already know might be true? ... Ah, you mean _free_ software. Why not be more specific and say that in the first place? ... Would you please read exactly what I wrote, and not go and interpret things and then make claims? ... It seems impossible to have a discussion about this on HN, without being downvoted into oblivion. Obviously there is a rather big population on HN, which does not understand the differences of the two and feels like they need to downvote any comment, that tries to differentiate or point to imprecision in wording. ... Basically people build their own bubbles everywhere. If you are the one to poke it, you better prepare for the backlash, I learn once more. All this adds less than nothing to HN, breaks the guidelines in several ways, and everyone is the poorer for having read them. Aside from the unbearable, self-important whining and pouting, it's not so much what you said as how you say it. It seems common to then create a conspiracy theory where it's all about the what, where downvotes somehow just go to show the writer was right. Even if you were 100% right on this page and everyone else 100% wrong, that's no excuse at all to write as you have. And if you are trying to persuade, ranting at people like that seems the worst possible way.