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Your backhanded compliment is a bit disturbing for being the top comment. I've largely dismissed the complaints about the HN community becoming more negative, l

Your backhanded compliment is a bit disturbing for being the top comment. I've largely dismissed the complaints about the HN community becoming more negative, largely thinking that mature realism was being mistaken for unwarranted negativity. However, this comment, along with the negative comments about the uptime of Tindie's blog (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4472348 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4472348), has me thinking that these complaints of undue negativity are justified. I find the attention to detail involved in selecting knots to be a tremendously interesting aspect of sending a physical vehicle to mars, and I find it to be a testament to human specialization and intelligence that there's a whole community of knot experts that can provide so much insight into the knot choices. Implying some sort of OCD around sock drawers seems incredibly rude, and counter-productive to building or maintaining a culture of technical excellence.

libria 14y ago
I've read and reread ktizo and I'm not seeing the negativity. He drew a correlation based on their attention to detail and if mistaken should be about as insulting as mathematical error. Perhaps there's a cross-cultural interpretation associated with sock drawers that I'm missing. Granted there has been negativity on HN lately, but are we not manufacturing drama here? //edit: I read it that he's impressed with their focus and passion, which sounds more like a compliment.
- ktizo 14y ago
  Perhaps there's a cross-cultural interpretation associated with sock drawers that I'm missing I do hope so. As then there is a chance that we might find out what it is and then everything might just make sense. Otherwise I'm just going to paraphrase Keynes and assume that internets can remain irrational a lot longer than I can stay sober.
- flatline3 14y ago
  "I love that ..." is the rhetorical equivalent of "Don't take this the wrong way, but ..." There's a pretty clear implication that it's silly to "crop out" pictures of mars, focus on knots, and the kind of people that would do that would be OCD in their maintenance of sock drawers. It's a silly, vaguely cutting generalization. Observe the top reply, which takes a defensive stance: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4474178 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4474178
ktizo 14y ago
I had no idea that sock drawers were such a touchy subject. However I would say that if you want to maintain a culture of technical excellence, it should be built well enough in the first place to cope with things like occaisional wayward comedy about the possible sock organisiation habits of fans of practical topology, without getting too upset about it. Otherwise it isn't a very good culture of technical excellence and it will all fall apart the first time somebody sneezes.
- flatline3 14y ago
  I don't think your reply (the tone can be effectively summarized as "Toughen up, nerd") is any more inclusive than the first comment.
  - ktizo 14y ago
    Is nothing to do with being tough. You might as well ban stuff like Dilbert references as well if you get so upset at comedy that references stereotypes of engineers. [edit] I was also not being backhanded in the first place. You are allowed to include jokes in complements and you do not have to show some sort of undue reverence for people whose work you appreciate when you point out that you like what they do.
    - flatline3 14y ago
      Your comments are simply misdirection of blame by cutting me down instead of the original knot expert you started with. The problem, as you see it, isn't that you ascribed a negative to the engineers (cropping out mars, focusing on knots, OCD attentiveness to sock drawers), but rather, you attempt to frame it as a simple lack of humor on behalf of external observers. The problem with this analysis is that while Dilbert is funny (and fake), you were demeaning (of real people), and your defense uses the same subtly demeaning tone as your original comment.
      - ktizo 14y ago
        Speaking as someone whose really likes topology, and who has been around boats their whole life, I suspect that you have not got the first fucking clue what I think regarding people who obsess about knots. Also, I would rather you didn't attempt to try and act as some sort of translator for me, as you appear to be a complete and utter dick. Sorry for my undue negativity about this.
snowwrestler 14y ago
Your commment strikes me as more negative than its parent.

libria 14y ago

I've read and reread ktizo and I'm not seeing the negativity. He drew a correlation based on their attention to detail and if mistaken should be about as insulting as mathematical error. Perhaps there's a cross-cultural interpretation associated with sock drawers that I'm missing. Granted there has been negativity on HN lately, but are we not manufacturing drama here? //edit: I read it that he's impressed with their focus and passion, which sounds more like a compliment.

ktizo 14y ago
Perhaps there's a cross-cultural interpretation associated with sock drawers that I'm missing I do hope so. As then there is a chance that we might find out what it is and then everything might just make sense. Otherwise I'm just going to paraphrase Keynes and assume that internets can remain irrational a lot longer than I can stay sober.
flatline3 14y ago
"I love that ..." is the rhetorical equivalent of "Don't take this the wrong way, but ..." There's a pretty clear implication that it's silly to "crop out" pictures of mars, focus on knots, and the kind of people that would do that would be OCD in their maintenance of sock drawers. It's a silly, vaguely cutting generalization. Observe the top reply, which takes a defensive stance: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4474178 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4474178

ktizo 14y ago

I had no idea that sock drawers were such a touchy subject. However I would say that if you want to maintain a culture of technical excellence, it should be built well enough in the first place to cope with things like occaisional wayward comedy about the possible sock organisiation habits of fans of practical topology, without getting too upset about it. Otherwise it isn't a very good culture of technical excellence and it will all fall apart the first time somebody sneezes.

flatline3 14y ago
I don't think your reply (the tone can be effectively summarized as "Toughen up, nerd") is any more inclusive than the first comment.
- ktizo 14y ago
  Is nothing to do with being tough. You might as well ban stuff like Dilbert references as well if you get so upset at comedy that references stereotypes of engineers. [edit] I was also not being backhanded in the first place. You are allowed to include jokes in complements and you do not have to show some sort of undue reverence for people whose work you appreciate when you point out that you like what they do.
  - flatline3 14y ago
    Your comments are simply misdirection of blame by cutting me down instead of the original knot expert you started with. The problem, as you see it, isn't that you ascribed a negative to the engineers (cropping out mars, focusing on knots, OCD attentiveness to sock drawers), but rather, you attempt to frame it as a simple lack of humor on behalf of external observers. The problem with this analysis is that while Dilbert is funny (and fake), you were demeaning (of real people), and your defense uses the same subtly demeaning tone as your original comment.
    - ktizo 14y ago
      Speaking as someone whose really likes topology, and who has been around boats their whole life, I suspect that you have not got the first fucking clue what I think regarding people who obsess about knots. Also, I would rather you didn't attempt to try and act as some sort of translator for me, as you appear to be a complete and utter dick. Sorry for my undue negativity about this.

snowwrestler 14y ago

Your commment strikes me as more negative than its parent.