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Thank you for calling this out. I'm shocked it doesn't happen more often. It really ought to.

• Teever 11mo ago
  It should but it won't because people on here have developed a parasocial relationship with Walter and he's become a sort of minor celebrity on HN. I mentioned this to Dang recently[0] and he's ambivalent about it. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45610620#45637851 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45610620#45637851
  • tomhow 11mo ago
    In that discussion you seemed to agree that there's not much we can or should do about it; you seemed to be indicating that you were just contemplating the phenomenon, rather than complaining or arguing that something needed to be done. For what it's worth: the “celebrity” effect works both ways. Sure, some members of the community may be more willing to give them a pass. But other users will be more motivated to downvote and/or flag, even if the comment is relatively benign.