4 ms·

It’s become a trope that the news written about topics we know is woeful and unreliable, yet we trust the news written about anything else. Now I feel the same

It’s become a trope that the news written about topics we know is woeful and unreliable, yet we trust the news written about anything else. Now I feel the same about HN. I know a decent amount about this topic - and the comments on this article are a dumpster fire so far. Hot take after hot take from people who didn’t understand the article, but act as if they did. Is the rest of HN like this, too?

eigenket 5y ago
A lot of comments on anything about quantum information/computation/foundations are definitely nonsense. Thats the only field I'm really qualified to make such judgements about.
as_i_fall 5y ago
So you're going to complain that nobody is getting the point of the article and then not explain yourself? Awesome
petercooper 5y ago
Is the rest of HN like this, too? There are certainly topics where the median level of discourse on HN doesn't approach the professional level of understanding (advertising is the one I notice) but that's true of any broad community. The overall level of discourse and knowledge on here is high regardless.
mleonhard 5y ago
The articles on software engineering are often high quality. The HN comments on such articles are usually better than the articles. I check https://news.ycombinator.com/classic https://news.ycombinator.com/classic rather than the front page. I have noticed that, in the last 6 months or so, more low-quality comments get voted to the first page on HN posts than before. It feels like a new Eternal September. I spend more of my downvotes on distracting reddit-style comments than on incorrect posts. Is my change in downvoting behavior contributing to the decline?
- colpabar 5y ago
  What's the difference between the front page and the classic view? I didn't know about this. >I spend more of my downvotes on distracting reddit-style comments than on incorrect posts. Is my change in downvoting behavior contributing to the decline? I don't think so. I can't downvote yet, but that's how I imagine I'll use the feature too. It warms my heart seeing most "reddit-style" (I'd argue some are twitter-style too) comments so heavily downvoted, as they are usually the exact opposite of thoughtful. It's nice to know, or at least feel like, there is a silent majority of users here that can stick to the rules even when a thread gets super divisive.
  - 7fYZ7mJh3RNKNaG 5y ago
    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26465569 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26465569 - HN front page ranked using only votes from early users (2009)
phkahler 5y ago
What I got out of it is the concept from psychology -> distinguishing self from other. You want to make sure your perceptions are real and not projections, that your reactions are appropriate and not transference. The only way to avoid those things is to recognize what it coming from within yourself. I can see how that sounds stupid or absurd to a lot of people, however it's like the blub paradox - if you're looking up the abstraction ladder all you see is a bunch of strange words and jargon. I can see fairly clearly, and some of that is due to psychoanalysis that nearly killed me. Another very closely related psych truism is that there are hidden influences lurking below your conscious perception, and often another level below that. Most people reject that notion (obviously, they can't see it) and some get angry (that's often a defense against finding that which is hidden). When you see the dumpster fire here, it's the dumpster in their heads that they're not even aware of manifesting in the comments.
- tlaset 5y ago
  Projection is strong, and people are often bitten by projecting their altruistic and positive feelings on other persons, especially if they talk the talk like in this article. Where you see a dumpster fire, I see life experience. Hiring and management is in fact one of the topics that HN is quite good at.
samvher 5y ago
This is why there is a down-vote arrow and a reply button, right? What I like about HN is that very often misunderstandings that initially seem believable get corrected with sources and explanation.
askafriend 5y ago
Yes most of HN comments are like this with the exception of a handful.
Taylor_OD 5y ago
The hottest take of all in every HN comment thread is the one talking about how bad the other comments are yet not adding anything to the conversation. Do you have something to say about the article? You said you know a lot about the topic.
- yeahnah22 5y ago
  In the cold light of day I regret my obnoxious comment
NikolaeVarius 5y ago
Yes. HN is no different from any other social media
intergalplan 5y ago
You might enjoy n-gate.com's take on HN.

eigenket 5y ago

A lot of comments on anything about quantum information/computation/foundations are definitely nonsense. Thats the only field I'm really qualified to make such judgements about.

as_i_fall 5y ago

So you're going to complain that nobody is getting the point of the article and then not explain yourself? Awesome

petercooper 5y ago

Is the rest of HN like this, too? There are certainly topics where the median level of discourse on HN doesn't approach the professional level of understanding (advertising is the one I notice) but that's true of any broad community. The overall level of discourse and knowledge on here is high regardless.

mleonhard 5y ago

The articles on software engineering are often high quality. The HN comments on such articles are usually better than the articles. I check https://news.ycombinator.com/classic https://news.ycombinator.com/classic rather than the front page. I have noticed that, in the last 6 months or so, more low-quality comments get voted to the first page on HN posts than before. It feels like a new Eternal September. I spend more of my downvotes on distracting reddit-style comments than on incorrect posts. Is my change in downvoting behavior contributing to the decline?

colpabar 5y ago
What's the difference between the front page and the classic view? I didn't know about this. >I spend more of my downvotes on distracting reddit-style comments than on incorrect posts. Is my change in downvoting behavior contributing to the decline? I don't think so. I can't downvote yet, but that's how I imagine I'll use the feature too. It warms my heart seeing most "reddit-style" (I'd argue some are twitter-style too) comments so heavily downvoted, as they are usually the exact opposite of thoughtful. It's nice to know, or at least feel like, there is a silent majority of users here that can stick to the rules even when a thread gets super divisive.
- 7fYZ7mJh3RNKNaG 5y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26465569 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26465569 - HN front page ranked using only votes from early users (2009)

phkahler 5y ago

What I got out of it is the concept from psychology -> distinguishing self from other. You want to make sure your perceptions are real and not projections, that your reactions are appropriate and not transference. The only way to avoid those things is to recognize what it coming from within yourself. I can see how that sounds stupid or absurd to a lot of people, however it's like the blub paradox - if you're looking up the abstraction ladder all you see is a bunch of strange words and jargon. I can see fairly clearly, and some of that is due to psychoanalysis that nearly killed me. Another very closely related psych truism is that there are hidden influences lurking below your conscious perception, and often another level below that. Most people reject that notion (obviously, they can't see it) and some get angry (that's often a defense against finding that which is hidden). When you see the dumpster fire here, it's the dumpster in their heads that they're not even aware of manifesting in the comments.

tlaset 5y ago
Projection is strong, and people are often bitten by projecting their altruistic and positive feelings on other persons, especially if they talk the talk like in this article. Where you see a dumpster fire, I see life experience. Hiring and management is in fact one of the topics that HN is quite good at.

samvher 5y ago

This is why there is a down-vote arrow and a reply button, right? What I like about HN is that very often misunderstandings that initially seem believable get corrected with sources and explanation.

askafriend 5y ago

Yes most of HN comments are like this with the exception of a handful.

Taylor_OD 5y ago

The hottest take of all in every HN comment thread is the one talking about how bad the other comments are yet not adding anything to the conversation. Do you have something to say about the article? You said you know a lot about the topic.

yeahnah22 5y ago
In the cold light of day I regret my obnoxious comment

NikolaeVarius 5y ago

Yes. HN is no different from any other social media

intergalplan 5y ago

You might enjoy n-gate.com's take on HN.