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I think the author—rightly in my case—assumed they have an audience who already knew the context based on the title, and the tweet which prompted it, pictured a

I think the author—rightly in my case—assumed they have an audience who already knew the context based on the title, and the tweet which prompted it, pictured a bit further. Not all of us spend a lot of time on Twitter, it’s okay to feel the intro lacked context. It’s also okay to wade into something unfamiliar and patiently find out if you’ll get something out of it. Probably 90% of the best things I’ve read from a HN link have been completely context-bare for me when I clicked through to read. You probably spent more time writing this than it would have taken to read far enough to gain the context you were lacking. Not that you’re obligated of course. But maybe it’d be more productive for you and everyone if you quickly dismiss by moving on to the next thing.

aunty_helen 4y ago
This could be said about any criticism. It’s also perfectly valid to point out flaws in a style of writing. It’s so common, a lot of places have comment sections where people can leave their opinions. As for making assumptions, that’s fine, I read heavy technical stuff on hn a lot and often find myself out of depth and unable to gain benefit that would apply to me from an article. So often I’ll just stop reading and go about my day. But really, having an obtuse opener on a blog post serves no one. There’s just no flow to it.
OrderlyTiamat 4y ago
I think this is a part of the reason so many people focus on the comments over the article. I've found that whether there are a lot of comments and good healthy discussion is a excellent marker for article quality. The first paragraph(s) frequently are not. I agree with the 90% experience, but I have to say it is very hit and miss: let's say like 50% of posts that start badly are bad throughout. (And I do consider starting with an assumed context to be starting badly. It takes just a sentence to describe the fact _that there is context_ not present in the article if you don't want to include it outright)

aunty_helen 4y ago

This could be said about any criticism. It’s also perfectly valid to point out flaws in a style of writing. It’s so common, a lot of places have comment sections where people can leave their opinions. As for making assumptions, that’s fine, I read heavy technical stuff on hn a lot and often find myself out of depth and unable to gain benefit that would apply to me from an article. So often I’ll just stop reading and go about my day. But really, having an obtuse opener on a blog post serves no one. There’s just no flow to it.

OrderlyTiamat 4y ago

I think this is a part of the reason so many people focus on the comments over the article. I've found that whether there are a lot of comments and good healthy discussion is a excellent marker for article quality. The first paragraph(s) frequently are not. I agree with the 90% experience, but I have to say it is very hit and miss: let's say like 50% of posts that start badly are bad throughout. (And I do consider starting with an assumed context to be starting badly. It takes just a sentence to describe the fact _that there is context_ not present in the article if you don't want to include it outright)