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They were asking to shut down discussion on a discussion board instead of just hiding or flagging the thread and getting on with their day (speaking of the guid
by dfxm12 3y ago
They were asking to shut down discussion on a discussion board instead of just hiding or flagging the thread and getting on with their day (speaking of the guidelines...). They said the discussion was going to hell before nearly almost any posts popped up. I asked what the strongest interpretation of this comment was. With all the context, to be frank, it is poisoning the well and I gave the benefit of doubt in deference to the guidelines.
You call it definitely flamebait, but I expected no flames and no one flamed me. Based on the responses, comments and votes, it seemed to be recognized as an honest post (as it was).
- dang 3y agoWhat makes it flamebait is the statistically expected response, not the actual responses, which are subject to randomness. It's just obviously against the site guidelines to say things like "not sure if you're being honest or poisoning the well", so please omit that kind of thing from your HN posts in the future.
- dfxm12 3y agoIntent makes a comment flamebait. If it was obviously against the guidelines, like complaining that a submission is inappropriate, I wouldn't have posted it. Anyway, I'm interested to learn. What statistical analysis did you run to conclude what the expected response to my post would be?
- dang 3y agoI'm just speaking from long experience. The word "statistically" above just means "if you look at enough cases". What makes a comment flamebait is the effect it has on the thread (that's the "bait" part). Intent doesn't determine this. If it did, it wouldn't be possible to post flamebait accidentally—which is actually how most flamebait comes about.
- dfxm12 3y agoI've got a lot of experience on message boards too. I've never heard of accidental flamebait as a concept. Baiting a line (of fishing wire or text) is a deliberate act. Anyway, What makes it flamebait is ... not the actual responses What makes a comment flamebait is the effect it has on the thread Aren't the actual responses to a comment the effect it has on a thread (as opposed to what you think the responses might be)?
- dang 3y agoMany, in fact most, trollish comments are posted by people who had no intention of being trollish and had no idea that their comments might land in trollish ways. The resulting flamewars are the same as if they had intended it. Does that help?
- dfxm12 3y agoNo, because just like you've moved the conversation away from trying to justify how my post breaks the hn guidelines, you're moving it again away from your indefensible stance on the definition of flamebait. Flame wars gets started by accident sometimes, yes. There are a myriad reasons for this. It has nothing to do with the definition of flamebait.
- dang 3y agoOf course it's possible that we have different definitions of flamebait. What I mean by it is when a post includes something inflammatory which is likely to generate an indignant response in either the person you're replying to or readers at large.
- dfxm12 3y agoIt's different when a moderator uses personal definitions for words as justification for taking action. The guidelines might as well say "posts are subject to our whims" at that point.