> Avoid attempts at humor. For one, text mediums like HN can easily lead to misinterpretations; there are many people reading for whom English is a second langu

> Avoid attempts at humor. For one, text mediums like HN can easily lead to misinterpretations; there are many people reading for whom English is a second language, so being clever can cause confusion for those readers; On behalf of ESL people, you're offended? Maybe you should let them speak for themselves. Humor is a big part of what makes life worth living. I love it when someone makes me LOL. Maybe the non-native English speakers just think, "Well, I don't get that, but whatever." In their other reading, they'll run across idiomatic English sooner or later, too. Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out of it alive.