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Why are there so many negative comments? And most of these aren't even constructive criticisms. Do you have any suggestions to give the founding team? Any con

Why are there so many negative comments? And most of these aren't even constructive criticisms. Do you have any suggestions to give the founding team? Any constructive criticism to offer? I'm sure they'd like to hear it. On the other hand, snide remarks provide hardly any value to anyone.

sixQuarks 13y ago
Looks like you're new around here. Welcome to HN, where the top comment for DropBox's launch was something along the lines of "this will never work".
- mst 13y ago
  Presumably the second highest rated comment was "less space than a nomad - lame" ...
- paulrademacher 13y ago
  To read the atom.io threads. Plenty of positivity around here when a new product strikes a chord.
anonymoushn 13y ago
I would like to suggest that the founding team finds a problem to solve.
jamesbritt 13y ago
On the other hand, snide remarks provide hardly any value to anyone. Sure. Does the same apply to single-sentence "This is great!" comments? Is a new business helped by people who cheer them on with vague support without also confirming that the product solves a real problem for them? It brings to mind some of the ideas behind having an MVP. It's almost meaningless to have people say your business idea is great. What matters is will they part with their money for it. Empty naysayers don't contribute much, but neither do empty cheerleaders. They're just less irksome.
- emmett 13y ago
  In fact, no. The same is not true of empty positive comments. A good place to read about the HN philosophy on what makes a bad comment: http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html (scroll to the comment section) As I write this though I realize I have a pretty fundamental disagreement. Going up to someone and telling them that they're an idiot or otherwise abusing them is totally unacceptable in most social settings. Congratulating someone is not. Why should HN be different?
  - jamesbritt 13y ago
    Going up to someone and telling them that they're an idiot or otherwise abusing them is totally unacceptable in most social settings. Congratulating someone is not. The essential distinction here is between personal comments and comments about a product. There's a difference between congratulating someone on launching and telling them their product or idea is great. I don't believe that "What a great idea" is as bad as "What a stoopid idea", but question whether the former actually contributes any more to to the discussion or is tangibly useful to anyone. I've noticed quite often comments of the form "+1" or "Cool article!" get down-voted quickly into wispy gray. They contribute nothing to the discussion aside from a virtual pat on the back. One-sentence "Great idea!" comments feel much the same. From your link: And since it's hard to write a short comment that's distinguished for the amount of information it conveys, people try to distinguish them instead by being funny. Or perhaps by being super-upbeat, a more acceptable way to post without offering much substance.
    - emmett 13y ago
      You say the question is whether it contribute more. Obviously it does not, but that's not the question. The question is what produces the best community on the site. Vapid positivity can be easily ignored (and as you point out is often down voted). But even when it's not, no big deal. Vapid put-downs are vastly more dangerous, because they're mean as well as stupid and thus create a negative and toxic environment for others.

sixQuarks 13y ago

Looks like you're new around here. Welcome to HN, where the top comment for DropBox's launch was something along the lines of "this will never work".

mst 13y ago
Presumably the second highest rated comment was "less space than a nomad - lame" ...
paulrademacher 13y ago
To read the atom.io threads. Plenty of positivity around here when a new product strikes a chord.

anonymoushn 13y ago

I would like to suggest that the founding team finds a problem to solve.

jamesbritt 13y ago

On the other hand, snide remarks provide hardly any value to anyone. Sure. Does the same apply to single-sentence "This is great!" comments? Is a new business helped by people who cheer them on with vague support without also confirming that the product solves a real problem for them? It brings to mind some of the ideas behind having an MVP. It's almost meaningless to have people say your business idea is great. What matters is will they part with their money for it. Empty naysayers don't contribute much, but neither do empty cheerleaders. They're just less irksome.

emmett 13y ago
In fact, no. The same is not true of empty positive comments. A good place to read about the HN philosophy on what makes a bad comment: http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html http://www.paulgraham.com/hackernews.html (scroll to the comment section) As I write this though I realize I have a pretty fundamental disagreement. Going up to someone and telling them that they're an idiot or otherwise abusing them is totally unacceptable in most social settings. Congratulating someone is not. Why should HN be different?
- jamesbritt 13y ago
  Going up to someone and telling them that they're an idiot or otherwise abusing them is totally unacceptable in most social settings. Congratulating someone is not. The essential distinction here is between personal comments and comments about a product. There's a difference between congratulating someone on launching and telling them their product or idea is great. I don't believe that "What a great idea" is as bad as "What a stoopid idea", but question whether the former actually contributes any more to to the discussion or is tangibly useful to anyone. I've noticed quite often comments of the form "+1" or "Cool article!" get down-voted quickly into wispy gray. They contribute nothing to the discussion aside from a virtual pat on the back. One-sentence "Great idea!" comments feel much the same. From your link: And since it's hard to write a short comment that's distinguished for the amount of information it conveys, people try to distinguish them instead by being funny. Or perhaps by being super-upbeat, a more acceptable way to post without offering much substance.
  - emmett 13y ago
    You say the question is whether it contribute more. Obviously it does not, but that's not the question. The question is what produces the best community on the site. Vapid positivity can be easily ignored (and as you point out is often down voted). But even when it's not, no big deal. Vapid put-downs are vastly more dangerous, because they're mean as well as stupid and thus create a negative and toxic environment for others.