Of all the HN rules (written and informal) I find the general air of humourlessness most difficult to vibe with. I do understand the reasons. We'd like to keep

Of all the HN rules (written and informal) I find the general air of humourlessness most difficult to vibe with. I do understand the reasons. We'd like to keep discussion focused and jokes sometimes derail a sincere thread. Also, humour can be misinterpreted easily and cause offence. But that comes in a context where sarcasm, dooming and flippancy are rife and acceptable, and sometimes it really does feel like someone just needs to lighten the mood a little. There's also that humour can be a wonderful seed to pose a question or provocative challenge that kicks-off a thread of intellectual curiosity and would not work otherwise. Anyway I am glad that this is neither Slashdot nor Reddit but has it's own atmosphere.