7 ms·

Every single thread where he's the topic, without exception, focuses at least in part on attempting to strip Musk of any accomplishment. He is allowed to have a

Every single thread where he's the topic, without exception, focuses at least in part on attempting to strip Musk of any accomplishment. He is allowed to have accomplished absolutely nothing. There must be zero redeeming value to his existence. The extreme nature of the focused attacks on him today are fascinating to watch in terms of how angry, irrational mobs form on targets and attack until there's nothing left (and then they keep attacking, because some people are late to the party). They attack his parenting. They attack his business successes. They attack his mental capabilities and rationality. They attack his character. They attack his family and background. They lie about all of the above to whatever extent is necessary. This goes on here, on Reddit, Twitter, wherever a discussion about Musk arises. The only difference between HN and Reddit on this topic is that HN is slightly more highbrow, although the same general attacks get repeated here as they do on Reddit. Someone on Reddit yesterday was proclaiming that he "attached" himself to the SpaceX success and deserved zero credit for it. That rather nicely encompasses what's going on. It's one of the biggest shit shows in the history of the Internet. It's embarrassing - as a human - to watch so many people desperately rolling around in the muck to participate.

Tainnor 3y ago
Regardless of whether you think Elon Musk is talented or not, I can't really agree that people hating on one of the richest and most influential people in the world constitutes one of "the biggest shit shows in the history of the internet". We're talking about the same internet in which Facebook's algorithms contributed to violence against the Rohingya. What people think about Elon Musk is simply of no significance by comparison.
JAM1971 3y ago
> This goes on here, on Reddit, Twitter, wherever a discussion about Musk arises. The only difference between HN and Reddit on this topic is that HN is slightly more highbrow, although the same general attacks get repeated here as they do on Reddit. My casual observation says that HN has become more "Reddit-Like" in terms of low quality and off-topic posting since the whole Reddit API/MOD debacle. And yes, I see the irony. I get it.
- Tainnor 3y ago
  I think the more likely explanation is that the low-quality content has always been here, it's just more or less visible depending on which topics you visit and what's happening in the world. This place was IMHO pretty toxic during the pandemic. It felt like half of the threads were some covid-related "controversies" and the other half was about whether or not WFH is a fundamental human right.
  - cudgy 3y ago
    These events caused major shifts in a very short time. Seems understandable that something so invasive as Covid and life-changing as work from home would be at the front of many people’s minds.
    - Tainnor 3y ago
      Yes, it's definitely understandable, just saying that the quality of comments around that time was IMHO pretty bad
- rlt 3y ago
  > My casual observation says that HN has become more "Reddit-Like" in terms of low quality and off-topic posting People have been saying this pretty much as long as HN has been around
kakwa_ 3y ago
I guess it's an explainable reaction given it was the other way around for years. Go back 2 or 3 years ago and the level of idolization and fanboyism was just incredibly high. Tons of 'Elon is a genius' or 'Elon could fix [insert global issue]' like comments. It was just really annoying for a lot of people. And now, with Musk's recent 'reversals', some of these people are becoming very vocal, swinging things at the other extreme.
qsdf38100 3y ago
Oh, come on. The way he went from the fun, bold and ambitious guy most people liked, to the shadow of himself most people now hate is appaling. He used to promote tolerance, diversity and love (mostly), now he’s (mostly) into bullying, hate speech, authoritarianism, dictator ass-licking, parroting Kremlin propaganda, etc. What a letdown. Of course you can go the "morality is meaningless, the guy has highly successful businesses so he deserves respect" route. Or you could figure out that a self-made genius that pushes nonsense like the hyperloop, rocket mass transportation, tunnels for taxis and terraforming mars to save humanity while denying climate change, is probably neither a genius nor self-made.
- rlt 3y ago
  When did he deny climate change? If you’re honest with yourself I think you’ll fine these are all caricatures you’ve created because he’s no longer politically aligned enough with you. TDS has been replaced with EDS.
edmundsauto 3y ago
The counter view is a case of resulting, where people evaluate Musk’s skill based on the results of one or two of his companies. This is also a poor way to evaluate if he is a good decision maker. I do think his recent decisions have been quite poorly thought through, independent of the results. I suspect X/Twitter are going to get hammered by regulatory bodies worldwide because they are not meeting requirements set by eg FTC consent orders.
peterashford 3y ago
The prevailing view was for quite some time that he was some kind of unique genius. Its hardly surprising to see some pushback when he publicly demonstrates that he's not quite a genius, and he attacks segments of society (the media, the left wing, people who like other social media, people who criticise him). There's a certain level of reaping what you sew there.
JuanPosadas 3y ago
> Someone on Reddit yesterday was proclaiming that he "attached" himself to the SpaceX success and deserved zero credit for it. Stealing credit for achievements that aren't truly yours is a very serious accusation. > The extreme nature of the focused attacks on him today are fascinating to watch in terms of how angry, irrational mobs form on targets and attack You seem concerned about discussion quality, but you can't debunk the accusations, all you have to contribute is "everyone I disagree with is irrational!" Curious.

Tainnor 3y ago

Regardless of whether you think Elon Musk is talented or not, I can't really agree that people hating on one of the richest and most influential people in the world constitutes one of "the biggest shit shows in the history of the internet". We're talking about the same internet in which Facebook's algorithms contributed to violence against the Rohingya. What people think about Elon Musk is simply of no significance by comparison.

JAM1971 3y ago

> This goes on here, on Reddit, Twitter, wherever a discussion about Musk arises. The only difference between HN and Reddit on this topic is that HN is slightly more highbrow, although the same general attacks get repeated here as they do on Reddit. My casual observation says that HN has become more "Reddit-Like" in terms of low quality and off-topic posting since the whole Reddit API/MOD debacle. And yes, I see the irony. I get it.

Tainnor 3y ago
I think the more likely explanation is that the low-quality content has always been here, it's just more or less visible depending on which topics you visit and what's happening in the world. This place was IMHO pretty toxic during the pandemic. It felt like half of the threads were some covid-related "controversies" and the other half was about whether or not WFH is a fundamental human right.
- cudgy 3y ago
  These events caused major shifts in a very short time. Seems understandable that something so invasive as Covid and life-changing as work from home would be at the front of many people’s minds.
  - Tainnor 3y ago
    Yes, it's definitely understandable, just saying that the quality of comments around that time was IMHO pretty bad
rlt 3y ago
> My casual observation says that HN has become more "Reddit-Like" in terms of low quality and off-topic posting People have been saying this pretty much as long as HN has been around

kakwa_ 3y ago

I guess it's an explainable reaction given it was the other way around for years. Go back 2 or 3 years ago and the level of idolization and fanboyism was just incredibly high. Tons of 'Elon is a genius' or 'Elon could fix [insert global issue]' like comments. It was just really annoying for a lot of people. And now, with Musk's recent 'reversals', some of these people are becoming very vocal, swinging things at the other extreme.

qsdf38100 3y ago

Oh, come on. The way he went from the fun, bold and ambitious guy most people liked, to the shadow of himself most people now hate is appaling. He used to promote tolerance, diversity and love (mostly), now he’s (mostly) into bullying, hate speech, authoritarianism, dictator ass-licking, parroting Kremlin propaganda, etc. What a letdown. Of course you can go the "morality is meaningless, the guy has highly successful businesses so he deserves respect" route. Or you could figure out that a self-made genius that pushes nonsense like the hyperloop, rocket mass transportation, tunnels for taxis and terraforming mars to save humanity while denying climate change, is probably neither a genius nor self-made.

rlt 3y ago
When did he deny climate change? If you’re honest with yourself I think you’ll fine these are all caricatures you’ve created because he’s no longer politically aligned enough with you. TDS has been replaced with EDS.

edmundsauto 3y ago

The counter view is a case of resulting, where people evaluate Musk’s skill based on the results of one or two of his companies. This is also a poor way to evaluate if he is a good decision maker. I do think his recent decisions have been quite poorly thought through, independent of the results. I suspect X/Twitter are going to get hammered by regulatory bodies worldwide because they are not meeting requirements set by eg FTC consent orders.

peterashford 3y ago

The prevailing view was for quite some time that he was some kind of unique genius. Its hardly surprising to see some pushback when he publicly demonstrates that he's not quite a genius, and he attacks segments of society (the media, the left wing, people who like other social media, people who criticise him). There's a certain level of reaping what you sew there.

JuanPosadas 3y ago

> Someone on Reddit yesterday was proclaiming that he "attached" himself to the SpaceX success and deserved zero credit for it. Stealing credit for achievements that aren't truly yours is a very serious accusation. > The extreme nature of the focused attacks on him today are fascinating to watch in terms of how angry, irrational mobs form on targets and attack You seem concerned about discussion quality, but you can't debunk the accusations, all you have to contribute is "everyone I disagree with is irrational!" Curious.