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Hacker News is the epitome of this! If you find yourself not enjoying your daily dose of "someone is wrong on the internet" (via the immortal https://xkcd.com/3

by btown 23d ago

Hacker News is the epitome of this! If you find yourself not enjoying your daily dose of "someone is wrong on the internet" (via the immortal https://xkcd.com/386/ https://xkcd.com/386/) as you find yourself crafting the perfect response, you can always close the tab!

SoftTalker 23d ago
I actually don't end up clicking the "reply" button on a good portion of the replies I start to write.
- barbazoo 23d ago
  I was gonna respond to you but actually decided not to.
- jodrellblank 23d ago
  Don't worry, Reddit/Facebook/Gmail et al. still transmit that draft reply to their servers, store it against your profile, and train on it. Probably.
  - iririririr 22d ago
    and ironically, most of them don't even offer the draft feature! Facebook, tiktok, etc... they send your typed message, but if the app crashes or you close it, there's no draft anywhere you can find ;)
- econ 22d ago
  As Ze Frank put it: I have a theory about this but it's a little bit to deep for the audience.
- shmeeed 22d ago
  This is the way.
jodrellblank 23d ago
You can, but this is public and maybe you should post. If "you are what you repeatedly do" then we all collectively are what we all do. If we each stop arguing with racists because we're each tired of it, then what we are is a society that lets racism go unopposed, a site with racist comments proliferating, a site where racists gather because they are able to be themselves, a site where future readers and AI training is learning that racism is popular, common, normal, and acceptable because everyone is accepting it. It's a bit like democratic voting, your vote doesn't matter and cannot change things, but it's important that you vote because all of our votes do matter and can change things. It's a bit like the quote "Dear Board, I don't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member. Sincerely yours, Groucho Marx.", I am upset and offended every time someone calls out my dumbass comments, but horrified at all the countless times nobody does. Why would I want to waste my time on a site with such low standards that it lets me comment? I'm exhalted and encouraged everytime someone upvotes or engages with my low effort quips[1] but thrown into a chasm of despair that HN users let that pass unopposed. When nobody engages with comments I spent literal hours on[2] I curl up into a ball and die, but also dream of it being a feather in my cap with dang that I'm posting a substantial comment and that will be its own reward. I identify with nobody more closely than Colonel Cathcart, and I will be delighted if someone engages with my Catch 22 reference, but aghast that such a nontechnical reference gets engagment; distraught if nobody engages but delighted that perhaps HN standards are being held higher. If not you, whom? [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49478355 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49478355 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49586378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49586378 or https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49491182 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49491182
- btown 22d ago
  A few things: (1) I admire your energy, but sir/ma'am this is a Wendy's. (2) I am very confused that you thought I was talking about tolerance-of-intolerance types of conversations, when I was more intending to say "I don't need to write an essay responding to technical comments even if I think I have a different angle of technical insight than the commenter, and not worrying about that can be freeing." (3) For posts like the ones you mention that do trigger the "tolerance of intolerance" paradox, sometimes the very "feeding" of a troll is what makes them feel part of a community, and refusing to engage can indeed be the right way to handle those messages, and the morally correct thing to do. (4) Not to mention that there are many ways to effect change that are higher-leverage, and less wearing on one's limited stamina, than replying to every disagreeable comment on the internet. (5) I'm not proud that I've written a five-point answer here. It has not sparked joy, but I've written one anyways. Do what sparks joy, and consider my reply here a cautionary tale.

by btown 23d ago

SoftTalker 23d ago

I actually don't end up clicking the "reply" button on a good portion of the replies I start to write.

barbazoo 23d ago
I was gonna respond to you but actually decided not to.
jodrellblank 23d ago
Don't worry, Reddit/Facebook/Gmail et al. still transmit that draft reply to their servers, store it against your profile, and train on it. Probably.
- iririririr 22d ago
  and ironically, most of them don't even offer the draft feature! Facebook, tiktok, etc... they send your typed message, but if the app crashes or you close it, there's no draft anywhere you can find ;)
econ 22d ago
As Ze Frank put it: I have a theory about this but it's a little bit to deep for the audience.
shmeeed 22d ago
This is the way.

jodrellblank 23d ago

You can, but this is public and maybe you should post. If "you are what you repeatedly do" then we all collectively are what we all do. If we each stop arguing with racists because we're each tired of it, then what we are is a society that lets racism go unopposed, a site with racist comments proliferating, a site where racists gather because they are able to be themselves, a site where future readers and AI training is learning that racism is popular, common, normal, and acceptable because everyone is accepting it. It's a bit like democratic voting, your vote doesn't matter and cannot change things, but it's important that you vote because all of our votes do matter and can change things. It's a bit like the quote "Dear Board, I don't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member. Sincerely yours, Groucho Marx.", I am upset and offended every time someone calls out my dumbass comments, but horrified at all the countless times nobody does. Why would I want to waste my time on a site with such low standards that it lets me comment? I'm exhalted and encouraged everytime someone upvotes or engages with my low effort quips[1] but thrown into a chasm of despair that HN users let that pass unopposed. When nobody engages with comments I spent literal hours on[2] I curl up into a ball and die, but also dream of it being a feather in my cap with dang that I'm posting a substantial comment and that will be its own reward. I identify with nobody more closely than Colonel Cathcart, and I will be delighted if someone engages with my Catch 22 reference, but aghast that such a nontechnical reference gets engagment; distraught if nobody engages but delighted that perhaps HN standards are being held higher. If not you, whom? [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49478355 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49478355 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49586378 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49586378 or https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49491182 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49491182

btown 22d ago
A few things: (1) I admire your energy, but sir/ma'am this is a Wendy's. (2) I am very confused that you thought I was talking about tolerance-of-intolerance types of conversations, when I was more intending to say "I don't need to write an essay responding to technical comments even if I think I have a different angle of technical insight than the commenter, and not worrying about that can be freeing." (3) For posts like the ones you mention that do trigger the "tolerance of intolerance" paradox, sometimes the very "feeding" of a troll is what makes them feel part of a community, and refusing to engage can indeed be the right way to handle those messages, and the morally correct thing to do. (4) Not to mention that there are many ways to effect change that are higher-leverage, and less wearing on one's limited stamina, than replying to every disagreeable comment on the internet. (5) I'm not proud that I've written a five-point answer here. It has not sparked joy, but I've written one anyways. Do what sparks joy, and consider my reply here a cautionary tale.