4 ms·

> I am never going to play the "I'm-a-kid" card, because in my opinion my work (not just articles from my blog, I also develop software that I like to show arou

by iuguy 14y ago

> I am never going to play the "I'm-a-kid" card, because in my opinion my work (not just articles from my blog, I also develop software that I like to show around on HN) are a result of my hardwork, and I think they deserve competing with set standards, and it'd be belittling to have them receive positive feedback just because they were submitted by a "kid" Brilliant. I've just come from the linkbait thread where a 14 year old who's never been part of the HN community and is still only posting in that thread is playing the just a kid card pretty hard.

imwhimsical 14y ago
So I'm guessing it's the one about an iPhone app?
- iuguy 14y ago
  Yeah, but if you look at his submissions, comments and account lifespan you can see he has no interest in taking part in the community, only pimping his app.
  - shantanubala 14y ago
    He could have been reading HN without necessarily having the confidence to post something until he had something he felt he could contribute (i.e. an app he built). Obviously we can't read his mind, but I wouldn't mind giving him the benefit of my doubt.
    - iuguy 14y ago
      So in other words you're saying that he might have no interest in participating in the community, only pimping his app?
      - chris_wot 14y ago
        The "community" at HN is made up of those create thing, those who read articles and those who write comments. In fact it's a mix of the three. Clearly he knows about HN. Possibly he was lurking. Maybe he's not sure or is not confident enough to comment often. What he has done is created an app and a few interesting blog posts. As far as I'm concerned, that is what HN is all about!
        fatalerrorx3 14y ago
        I would say that an even larger part of the HN community is lurkers. Those that read the articles, comments and upvote, but don't actively participate in discussions. I've been lurking on HN for 4+ years, and I rarely ever contributed comments, mostly just read articles and read the comments to see others opinions. Don't think this is true? Take a look at how many comments are left on articles on the front page, then if you were lucky enough to reach the front page of HN, take a look at your analytics software. You'll see something like 20k visits in a short period of time, there's no where near that number of comments. Most people passively participate in this community.
  - marcloney 14y ago
    I know quite a few people who find HN to be a great source of news but don't feel like they meet the 'community standard' to submit a comment.
  - mnicole 14y ago
    Who cares? We need more original, inspiring content than the same "Why I'll never use _________ again!" crap.
thejosh 14y ago
That's been around for so long, kids looking for validation on what they have done (and trying to prove a point (Hey! I'm 14 and look what I did! Pats for me?)).
shantanubala 14y ago
Except you know that this is an age-old rhetorical technique, right? Examples of Apophasis: "It would be superfluous in me to point out to your lordship that this is war." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophasis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophasis I'm trying not to be harsh with this, because I think the blog post was quite nice, but the only reason to say, "I am never going to play the 'I'm-a-kid' card" is to project a sense of superiority in comparison to kids who "played the card." I think it's fine if you want your work to be judged on "adult" standards -- it's quite admirable. But if I was 14 and wanted advice on how a 14 year old should proceed, the advice could be very different from the advice you would give to someone you presume to be an adult. This is not an ideal situation, but it's a simple fact that being 14 puts you in a very different position than someone who is 24 -- it's impossible to show up at a bar to attend a meetup, it's harder to find other hackers (depending on location), and there are also a completely different set of life-related priorities that may factor in. To put it simply: it's not the kid's fault for saying that he or she is 14. It's the community's fault for voting it up just because of the kid's age (if that's what's happening -- in many cases, the upvotes can also be well-earned).

by iuguy 14y ago

imwhimsical 14y ago

So I'm guessing it's the one about an iPhone app?

iuguy 14y ago
Yeah, but if you look at his submissions, comments and account lifespan you can see he has no interest in taking part in the community, only pimping his app.
- shantanubala 14y ago
  He could have been reading HN without necessarily having the confidence to post something until he had something he felt he could contribute (i.e. an app he built). Obviously we can't read his mind, but I wouldn't mind giving him the benefit of my doubt.
  - iuguy 14y ago
    So in other words you're saying that he might have no interest in participating in the community, only pimping his app?
    - chris_wot 14y ago
      The "community" at HN is made up of those create thing, those who read articles and those who write comments. In fact it's a mix of the three. Clearly he knows about HN. Possibly he was lurking. Maybe he's not sure or is not confident enough to comment often. What he has done is created an app and a few interesting blog posts. As far as I'm concerned, that is what HN is all about!
      - fatalerrorx3 14y ago
        I would say that an even larger part of the HN community is lurkers. Those that read the articles, comments and upvote, but don't actively participate in discussions. I've been lurking on HN for 4+ years, and I rarely ever contributed comments, mostly just read articles and read the comments to see others opinions. Don't think this is true? Take a look at how many comments are left on articles on the front page, then if you were lucky enough to reach the front page of HN, take a look at your analytics software. You'll see something like 20k visits in a short period of time, there's no where near that number of comments. Most people passively participate in this community.
- marcloney 14y ago
  I know quite a few people who find HN to be a great source of news but don't feel like they meet the 'community standard' to submit a comment.
- mnicole 14y ago
  Who cares? We need more original, inspiring content than the same "Why I'll never use _________ again!" crap.

thejosh 14y ago

That's been around for so long, kids looking for validation on what they have done (and trying to prove a point (Hey! I'm 14 and look what I did! Pats for me?)).

shantanubala 14y ago

Except you know that this is an age-old rhetorical technique, right? Examples of Apophasis: "It would be superfluous in me to point out to your lordship that this is war." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophasis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophasis I'm trying not to be harsh with this, because I think the blog post was quite nice, but the only reason to say, "I am never going to play the 'I'm-a-kid' card" is to project a sense of superiority in comparison to kids who "played the card." I think it's fine if you want your work to be judged on "adult" standards -- it's quite admirable. But if I was 14 and wanted advice on how a 14 year old should proceed, the advice could be very different from the advice you would give to someone you presume to be an adult. This is not an ideal situation, but it's a simple fact that being 14 puts you in a very different position than someone who is 24 -- it's impossible to show up at a bar to attend a meetup, it's harder to find other hackers (depending on location), and there are also a completely different set of life-related priorities that may factor in. To put it simply: it's not the kid's fault for saying that he or she is 14. It's the community's fault for voting it up just because of the kid's age (if that's what's happening -- in many cases, the upvotes can also be well-earned).