5 ms·

please don't do the 'This' thing.

by jayzee 14y ago

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
swombat 14y ago
Just do what I do: I reflexively downvote any comment starting with "This[punctuation]". Variations (e.g., used elsewhere in this discussion, "Exactly this.") also get the downvote. If we all do "this", we can perhaps stamp out this annoying habit.
- bmelton 14y ago
  Y'know, it's funny. I also hate "This" as a usage for, well, anything. Reading this comment made me go look to see what moron posted "Exactly this" only to find out it was me. :-( It gets worse too, now that I think about it, in that I responded to a comment about the article without having read the article. I suppose it's contagious? Ug. Now I'm having a crisis. Either way, thanks for pointing out it, however indirectly.
  - swombat 14y ago
    Y'know, it's funny. I also hate "This" as a usage for, well, anything. Reading this comment made me go look to see what moron posted "Exactly this" only to find out it was me. :-( Lol, that's gotta suck :-) I'm sure this sort of stuff has happened to me before... If you don't want to follow the "this" herd, don't :-)
  - WildUtah 14y ago
    http://qcjeph.livejournal.com/110229.html http://qcjeph.livejournal.com/110229.html
  - kylebrown 14y ago
    > I also hate "This" as a usage for, well, anything. For a second there I thought I was trying to parse some javascript.
- meepmorp 14y ago
  This?
  - psb217 14y ago
    Yes, that.
- mahyarm 14y ago
  I have the opposite attitude, I reflexively down vote grammar nazism and a lack of flexibility for language change. Languages change organically, people spoke differently 100 years ago even and there is nothing wrong with it. It's like razing people for using the word 'like' instead of 'for example', even though they are functionally identical.
- Tsagadai 14y ago
  Language is a way of associating yourself with a particular group of people. How you communicate determines whether you fit into a group or not. If a comment is just "This" it adds nothing to a discussion. However, the comment above is more valid than your own, because it isn't off-topic ranting. What you are basically saying is "I use the voting system to attempt to ostracise others because they come from another group". It is never appropriate to dismiss someone who actually has something to say because you don't like their way of saying it.
- MrMan 14y ago
  If I had been granted the power to downvote, I would cast my first downvote on you, for this. In a post-modern economy of people handing each other money for entertainment, rather than just food and fuel, I don't want any part of the way I express myself to be "stamped out." Luckily for you your HN karma, which you will probably try to monetize somehow, cannot be devalued by me, but you can entertain schemes of priggish conformity under my nose. Pretty cool place!
  - swombat 14y ago
    I don't deny your right to downvote me. Don't deny my right to downvote what I don't like. Please go ahead and downvote my comments if you think they don't add to the discussion (this one is a particularly good candidate for that).
    - MrMan 14y ago
      I can't downvote I don't have enough karma. I wouldn't downvote you anyway it's not my style. I can barely come out of lurk mode, I only comment when things annoy me.
sigmaxipi 14y ago
Why not? 'This' is just like 'me too' or '+1'. By itself, it's a waste of a comment, but since harlanlewis elaborated, the "This." was just a prologue to the rest of the comment.
- MrMan 14y ago
  If the number of votes for a comment were visible people probably wouldn't feel the need to annotate their comments with "this" or "++1". So blame the commenting economy of HN. Or just accept it.

please don't do the 'This' thing.

by jayzee 14y ago

please don't do the 'This' thing.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

swombat 14y ago

Just do what I do: I reflexively downvote any comment starting with "This[punctuation]". Variations (e.g., used elsewhere in this discussion, "Exactly this.") also get the downvote. If we all do "this", we can perhaps stamp out this annoying habit.

bmelton 14y ago
Y'know, it's funny. I also hate "This" as a usage for, well, anything. Reading this comment made me go look to see what moron posted "Exactly this" only to find out it was me. :-( It gets worse too, now that I think about it, in that I responded to a comment about the article without having read the article. I suppose it's contagious? Ug. Now I'm having a crisis. Either way, thanks for pointing out it, however indirectly.
- swombat 14y ago
  Y'know, it's funny. I also hate "This" as a usage for, well, anything. Reading this comment made me go look to see what moron posted "Exactly this" only to find out it was me. :-( Lol, that's gotta suck :-) I'm sure this sort of stuff has happened to me before... If you don't want to follow the "this" herd, don't :-)
- WildUtah 14y ago
  http://qcjeph.livejournal.com/110229.html http://qcjeph.livejournal.com/110229.html
- kylebrown 14y ago
  > I also hate "This" as a usage for, well, anything. For a second there I thought I was trying to parse some javascript.
meepmorp 14y ago
This?
- psb217 14y ago
  Yes, that.
mahyarm 14y ago
I have the opposite attitude, I reflexively down vote grammar nazism and a lack of flexibility for language change. Languages change organically, people spoke differently 100 years ago even and there is nothing wrong with it. It's like razing people for using the word 'like' instead of 'for example', even though they are functionally identical.
Tsagadai 14y ago
Language is a way of associating yourself with a particular group of people. How you communicate determines whether you fit into a group or not. If a comment is just "This" it adds nothing to a discussion. However, the comment above is more valid than your own, because it isn't off-topic ranting. What you are basically saying is "I use the voting system to attempt to ostracise others because they come from another group". It is never appropriate to dismiss someone who actually has something to say because you don't like their way of saying it.
MrMan 14y ago
If I had been granted the power to downvote, I would cast my first downvote on you, for this. In a post-modern economy of people handing each other money for entertainment, rather than just food and fuel, I don't want any part of the way I express myself to be "stamped out." Luckily for you your HN karma, which you will probably try to monetize somehow, cannot be devalued by me, but you can entertain schemes of priggish conformity under my nose. Pretty cool place!
- swombat 14y ago
  I don't deny your right to downvote me. Don't deny my right to downvote what I don't like. Please go ahead and downvote my comments if you think they don't add to the discussion (this one is a particularly good candidate for that).
  - MrMan 14y ago
    I can't downvote I don't have enough karma. I wouldn't downvote you anyway it's not my style. I can barely come out of lurk mode, I only comment when things annoy me.

sigmaxipi 14y ago

Why not? 'This' is just like 'me too' or '+1'. By itself, it's a waste of a comment, but since harlanlewis elaborated, the "This." was just a prologue to the rest of the comment.

MrMan 14y ago
If the number of votes for a comment were visible people probably wouldn't feel the need to annotate their comments with "this" or "++1". So blame the commenting economy of HN. Or just accept it.