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I don't think I have ever witnessed a comment on Reddit, prefixed with "Unpopular opinion:", that did not actually contain a VERY popular opinion, and therefore

I don't think I have ever witnessed a comment on Reddit, prefixed with "Unpopular opinion:", that did not actually contain a VERY popular opinion, and therefore rocket to the top of the thread thanks to reverse psychology upvotes. It's depressing to watch this trope start to bleed over into HN.

chrisco255 5y ago
Well, it's at least a controversial opinion even if it also maintains popularity. People seem to rag on Electron apps all the time on HN due to their inefficient usage of computing resources. However, they are an optimal use of developer resources, which are far more constrained for the average project.
w-j-w 5y ago
You regularly see opposition to this opinion on HN though. Complaining about electron being inefficient is super common around here.
zamadatix 5y ago
Problems with the prefix aside (I'm not a fan either) Reddit does it's best to show you popular comments. If you go looking in the -10 through 10 range on relevant threads you'll have a decent chance of spotting them. Not "controversial", not "top" (or bottom of "top"), not "hot", just the 95% of comments that aren't driving engagement numbers. After all it's neither going to be popular because it's a popular sentiment nor is it particularly likely to be something interesting/relevant to get upvotes on merit. It's just going to be an unpopular opinion that gets ignored.
zython 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias You are less likely to read the truly unpopular opinions but yes I agree, seems like a cheap way to gain popularity.
yesenadam 5y ago
Also the phrase seems close to breaking the guideline against commenting about the voting on comments, and is a boring meta-comment that just adds noise. It seems like putting up a preemptive umbrella.
cosmotic 5y ago
You're taking about wrapping a boilerplate ridden platform in another boilerplate ridden platform where someone else wrote either boilerplate. You're talking about a browser without window dressing. That's not making an app nor eliminating any boilerplate.
- cosmotic 5y ago
  I'll also add that you lose most of the benefits of a native app and most of the benefits of a web app.
ajkjk 5y ago
Well.. people around here love to hate on Electron so I can understand thinking it's an unpopular take. But seriously Electron is so many times better than writing native apps .. or even trying to find the documentation for how to do _one single thing_ in a native app the way you want to.

chrisco255 5y ago

Well, it's at least a controversial opinion even if it also maintains popularity. People seem to rag on Electron apps all the time on HN due to their inefficient usage of computing resources. However, they are an optimal use of developer resources, which are far more constrained for the average project.

w-j-w 5y ago

You regularly see opposition to this opinion on HN though. Complaining about electron being inefficient is super common around here.

zamadatix 5y ago

Problems with the prefix aside (I'm not a fan either) Reddit does it's best to show you popular comments. If you go looking in the -10 through 10 range on relevant threads you'll have a decent chance of spotting them. Not "controversial", not "top" (or bottom of "top"), not "hot", just the 95% of comments that aren't driving engagement numbers. After all it's neither going to be popular because it's a popular sentiment nor is it particularly likely to be something interesting/relevant to get upvotes on merit. It's just going to be an unpopular opinion that gets ignored.

zython 5y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias You are less likely to read the truly unpopular opinions but yes I agree, seems like a cheap way to gain popularity.

yesenadam 5y ago

Also the phrase seems close to breaking the guideline against commenting about the voting on comments, and is a boring meta-comment that just adds noise. It seems like putting up a preemptive umbrella.

cosmotic 5y ago

You're taking about wrapping a boilerplate ridden platform in another boilerplate ridden platform where someone else wrote either boilerplate. You're talking about a browser without window dressing. That's not making an app nor eliminating any boilerplate.

cosmotic 5y ago
I'll also add that you lose most of the benefits of a native app and most of the benefits of a web app.

ajkjk 5y ago

Well.. people around here love to hate on Electron so I can understand thinking it's an unpopular take. But seriously Electron is so many times better than writing native apps .. or even trying to find the documentation for how to do _one single thing_ in a native app the way you want to.