From the Hacker News Welcome that introduces the guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html > The

From the Hacker News Welcome that introduces the guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html > The test for substance is a lot like it is for links. Does your comment teach us anything? There are two ways to do that: by pointing out some consideration that hadn't previously been mentioned, and by giving more information about the topic, perhaps from personal experience. Whereas comments like "lol" or "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard" teach us nothing. > Empty comments can be ok if they're positive. There's nothing wrong with submitting a comment saying just "Thanks." What we especially discourage are comments that are empty and negative—comments that are mere name-calling. The statement dates to 2014.