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I may belong to that silent majority. I have learnt a lot from the discussions here in HN and other sites, but I rarely participate on them. This post made me t

I may belong to that silent majority. I have learnt a lot from the discussions here in HN and other sites, but I rarely participate on them. This post made me think about being a little more active because, sincerely, most of the times it is just laziness what prevents me from commenting anything. In fact, this is my first comment here in HN. Little by little.

the_omegist 4y ago
For me it's more that I think a comment should really "bring something" : a new perspective or a complement of information. That's why there are places on the internet (like here) where, usually, I don't find the usual online fluff content.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
specialist 4y ago
Not commenting is a superior personal strategy. I've always been the vocal outspoken critic. XML, EJB, annotations, aspects, ORMs, everything JavaScript, agile, ad nauseum. (My non-technical list is way longer.) It's always cost me. I really wish I could tell young me to just smile and STFU.
- caprock 4y ago
  Are you referring to situations like work, or do you feel that way about the online world as well?
MexicanJoe 4y ago
> this is my first comment here in HN. Little by little. Here have an upvote!
veltas 4y ago
I will say that in my own experience, if you go against the zeitgeist on HN you can often get by as long as you're sensitive/respectful and intelligent on the issue. There are people who downvote things they disagree with, but I think most people on here downvote people who sound unconstructive or argumentative. And at the end of the day, if you're respectful etc, who cares about being downvoted or having people argue back to you? Just take it on the chin.
- gernb 4y ago
  you're supposed to downvote things you disagree with on HN. Here's Dang pointing to PG saying that downvoting for disagreeing is what you're supposed to do https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16131314 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16131314
  - spacechild1 4y ago
    This sounds completely wrong to me...
    - orangepurple 4y ago
      Agree. Downvoting disagreeable people will eventually completely silence them with that logic. One has to be generally agreeable to maintain positive karma. Not sure if the side effect is worth it. There are a lot of amusing assholes out there with unpopular opinions. Opinions that are highly relevant to the topic at hand can be polarizing, but these will likely result in the poster having negative karma long term. pg and dang are simply wrong. It encourages a hive mind.
      - Jensson 4y ago
        That isn't true, I am very disagreeable and argumentative and post before I think, and still maintain positive karma without any issues. Edit: It works since to downvote you need 500 karma, but everyone can upvote, so getting many upvotes is a lot easier than getting many downvotes.

the_omegist 4y ago

For me it's more that I think a comment should really "bring something" : a new perspective or a complement of information. That's why there are places on the internet (like here) where, usually, I don't find the usual online fluff content.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

specialist 4y ago

Not commenting is a superior personal strategy. I've always been the vocal outspoken critic. XML, EJB, annotations, aspects, ORMs, everything JavaScript, agile, ad nauseum. (My non-technical list is way longer.) It's always cost me. I really wish I could tell young me to just smile and STFU.

caprock 4y ago
Are you referring to situations like work, or do you feel that way about the online world as well?

MexicanJoe 4y ago

> this is my first comment here in HN. Little by little. Here have an upvote!

veltas 4y ago

I will say that in my own experience, if you go against the zeitgeist on HN you can often get by as long as you're sensitive/respectful and intelligent on the issue. There are people who downvote things they disagree with, but I think most people on here downvote people who sound unconstructive or argumentative. And at the end of the day, if you're respectful etc, who cares about being downvoted or having people argue back to you? Just take it on the chin.

gernb 4y ago
you're supposed to downvote things you disagree with on HN. Here's Dang pointing to PG saying that downvoting for disagreeing is what you're supposed to do https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16131314 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16131314
- spacechild1 4y ago
  This sounds completely wrong to me...
  - orangepurple 4y ago
    Agree. Downvoting disagreeable people will eventually completely silence them with that logic. One has to be generally agreeable to maintain positive karma. Not sure if the side effect is worth it. There are a lot of amusing assholes out there with unpopular opinions. Opinions that are highly relevant to the topic at hand can be polarizing, but these will likely result in the poster having negative karma long term. pg and dang are simply wrong. It encourages a hive mind.
    - Jensson 4y ago
      That isn't true, I am very disagreeable and argumentative and post before I think, and still maintain positive karma without any issues. Edit: It works since to downvote you need 500 karma, but everyone can upvote, so getting many upvotes is a lot easier than getting many downvotes.