7 ms·

downvote me please, but why is this on HN? I am currently learning Swedish just because we moved here for work, but English is the language we ALL speak at wor

downvote me please, but why is this on HN? I am currently learning Swedish just because we moved here for work, but English is the language we ALL speak at work, no matter where we come from. most HNers would need to learn a language if they get a job overseas for daily survival outside of work, @ work I bet 100% will be speaking English.

mdaniel 14y ago
My guess is because it falls under the topic of "brain hacking". Plus, I hear your point about pragmatics, but I am also appreciative of the exercise of learning the language as part of expanding ones horizons. "Walk a mile in his shoes" kind of deal, which only gets lip service unless one has actually needed to switch mental, cultural and linguistic contexts. I also honestly think that more Americans are not bilingual (or perhaps even interested in such a thing) because of the lack of opportunity to use that skill.
throwawaytruth 14y ago
Anything that falls within topic as long as the author frames to match the guidelines ("anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity"). Don't believe me? Try looking back at some of the /best lists in archive.org for politics, crime, or sports. They are there and it's the high rep Hners posting them. This is all about framing it right as long as you are seen in a favorable condition for framing the item. So yeah, that's how it is. I am sure to expect a counter stating why this is on-topic, or how this one topic is rare etc etc. Framing. Frame shit well, anything looks like gold. ---- The backstory? HN tells you to read http://ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html http://ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html and http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html but not even the regulars do it. No one follows the rules, because the rules are the regulars and hive mind make the rules. They make this their land to stomp on all and armchair speak. And that's the truth. I can pull references all day. If ever tried swearing here? Or giving a point against the masses? Downvoted right? Blame the hive mind and their inability to think on their own. Now check a regular high rep HNer. He swears, he goes against the masses tells them "What are you all thinking? I am ashamed of these comments here" A bazillion votes right? Same content, different framing. Before this post ends up as a dead link from users with too much emotion overflowed from the workplace, remember if you want to do well in this community, here are some steps to follow. I assure you these work. I've experimented with them and have studied high rep members for months * Circle jerk with reference, your point must inflate the previous point if not disagree with reference. * Frame your shit. Follow the masters and their styling, they can make cooking a pasta HN worthy. It's amazing actually they really do have that bullshit making skill * Bring in completely tangential points and references to counter anything written. The aim of the game is to disagree with just the right level of snark * Never ask why HN is the way it is, this will only upset the hivemind, they don't like their emotions swayed. * Attack YC companies, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, the community gets a kick out of this, they love seeing them fail and pointing how crappy they but never when those companies are busting their chops making something successful * If you are really really really angry about something someone wrote, use a throwaway account this is key. HN regulars do this, all the time. * Never interact with an HNer out of HN, not on twitter not on forums not on anywhere. The pseudonymity high they get off of being here makes them who they are. Don't take that away from them. * Never comment on the original article (Cannot let the author know all the snark and non constructive criticism you leave them can you?) * If you find a cool product on the internet that is not free, find a way to clone it in a weekend and put in on Github on rails and say "Tell HN: This is my piss poor clone done over the weekend give me karma now" pg once/twice/three times?/I lost count/ tried to fix this community but it's not fixable when the top community members fail to see they are full of themselves and imparting that notion to newcomers that this is how the conversation and behaviour must be. You may ask, why am I still here? Well you see, after you get past the circle jerk inflated ego mindset, there is actually treasure in here. And that sucks. Love/hate relationship I tell you. Did I once say frame your shit? If you haven't already, would you mind reading about HN's approach to comments?
Aga 14y ago
Sweden is a good place for speaking English, but try e.g. Japan. You won't get far with English even in IT-companies. Even in Sweden you will miss a lot of important informal discussions if you can't speak Swedish.
brianobush 14y ago
Not in Japan, unless you are working for a non-Japanese firm. Even then, you will be mainly surrounded by Japanese.
culturestate 14y ago
This probably rings true in many European companies, but in Asia it's absolutely the opposite. I'm working for a Japanese company at their development center in Shenzhen right now - the westerners (the UI/UX team) use English to communicate with each other, but the dev team speaks only Chinese and/or Japanese.

mdaniel 14y ago

My guess is because it falls under the topic of "brain hacking". Plus, I hear your point about pragmatics, but I am also appreciative of the exercise of learning the language as part of expanding ones horizons. "Walk a mile in his shoes" kind of deal, which only gets lip service unless one has actually needed to switch mental, cultural and linguistic contexts. I also honestly think that more Americans are not bilingual (or perhaps even interested in such a thing) because of the lack of opportunity to use that skill.

throwawaytruth 14y ago

Anything that falls within topic as long as the author frames to match the guidelines ("anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity"). Don't believe me? Try looking back at some of the /best lists in archive.org for politics, crime, or sports. They are there and it's the high rep Hners posting them. This is all about framing it right as long as you are seen in a favorable condition for framing the item. So yeah, that's how it is. I am sure to expect a counter stating why this is on-topic, or how this one topic is rare etc etc. Framing. Frame shit well, anything looks like gold. ---- The backstory? HN tells you to read http://ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html http://ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html and http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html but not even the regulars do it. No one follows the rules, because the rules are the regulars and hive mind make the rules. They make this their land to stomp on all and armchair speak. And that's the truth. I can pull references all day. If ever tried swearing here? Or giving a point against the masses? Downvoted right? Blame the hive mind and their inability to think on their own. Now check a regular high rep HNer. He swears, he goes against the masses tells them "What are you all thinking? I am ashamed of these comments here" A bazillion votes right? Same content, different framing. Before this post ends up as a dead link from users with too much emotion overflowed from the workplace, remember if you want to do well in this community, here are some steps to follow. I assure you these work. I've experimented with them and have studied high rep members for months * Circle jerk with reference, your point must inflate the previous point if not disagree with reference. * Frame your shit. Follow the masters and their styling, they can make cooking a pasta HN worthy. It's amazing actually they really do have that bullshit making skill * Bring in completely tangential points and references to counter anything written. The aim of the game is to disagree with just the right level of snark * Never ask why HN is the way it is, this will only upset the hivemind, they don't like their emotions swayed. * Attack YC companies, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, the community gets a kick out of this, they love seeing them fail and pointing how crappy they but never when those companies are busting their chops making something successful * If you are really really really angry about something someone wrote, use a throwaway account this is key. HN regulars do this, all the time. * Never interact with an HNer out of HN, not on twitter not on forums not on anywhere. The pseudonymity high they get off of being here makes them who they are. Don't take that away from them. * Never comment on the original article (Cannot let the author know all the snark and non constructive criticism you leave them can you?) * If you find a cool product on the internet that is not free, find a way to clone it in a weekend and put in on Github on rails and say "Tell HN: This is my piss poor clone done over the weekend give me karma now" pg once/twice/three times?/I lost count/ tried to fix this community but it's not fixable when the top community members fail to see they are full of themselves and imparting that notion to newcomers that this is how the conversation and behaviour must be. You may ask, why am I still here? Well you see, after you get past the circle jerk inflated ego mindset, there is actually treasure in here. And that sucks. Love/hate relationship I tell you. Did I once say frame your shit? If you haven't already, would you mind reading about HN's approach to comments?

Aga 14y ago

Sweden is a good place for speaking English, but try e.g. Japan. You won't get far with English even in IT-companies. Even in Sweden you will miss a lot of important informal discussions if you can't speak Swedish.

brianobush 14y ago

Not in Japan, unless you are working for a non-Japanese firm. Even then, you will be mainly surrounded by Japanese.

culturestate 14y ago

This probably rings true in many European companies, but in Asia it's absolutely the opposite. I'm working for a Japanese company at their development center in Shenzhen right now - the westerners (the UI/UX team) use English to communicate with each other, but the dev team speaks only Chinese and/or Japanese.