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Thanks for setting me straight, unabomber. I would hate for you to sacrifice your mannerisms, which seem every bit as polished as the Mac OS.

• pg 18y ago
  Please stop, both of you.
  • unalone 18y ago
    Was there something wrong with my original post? (I understand that responding to flamebait may have been a mistake.) I was legitimately trying to add to the discussion. And from what I've seen on HN, I didn't think there was a particular ruling towards manners in posts. Would it have been more appropriate to etiquette if I'd been less emotional in my post?
    • pg 18y ago
      Yes. As it says in the site guidelines, the test is whether you'd say the same thing face to face. I hope you wouldn't say "if you say otherwise you are a stupid, ignorant fuck" to someone's face.
      • unalone 18y ago
        It depends on the situation. I don't see Hacker News as a formalized discussion area. People congratulating each other and joking with each other tend to be observable in several places. This is a place for smart discussion, yes, but not necessarily formal discussion. Given that, then yes. I would absolutely say a line like that, expecting people listening in to understand that it's a piece of hyperbole rather than an actual belief. The fact that I then responded rationally when the OP replied should show that, in fact, I don't hold him in any sort of contempt. And, if I was in a setting with reasonably bright people having a conversation, I would use the phrase "stupid, ignorant fuck." The language alone should have made it obvious that I was being hyperbolic to attempt a point of debate. I guess that's not how you see it, though, so I'll avoid any sort of dialect like that in the future.