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The negativity bias really irks me. I went through a phase in my career where I tried to communicate everything in a positive way without talking about blame or

The negativity bias really irks me. I went through a phase in my career where I tried to communicate everything in a positive way without talking about blame or judgement. And I found that people don't respond to that as well - they are more likely to ignore you or forget what you said. But instead, if you talk about how X library sucks and Y developer did such and such wrong, people perk up their ears and listen to you, and they are more likely to start to regard you as the local expert. Seems like the effect is worse when talking to the non-technical folks. There's definitely way too much crankiness in the software world, and I don't think it's because the people are naturally negative people. It's because we're pragmatic people and we unconsciously gravitate towards the styles of communication that get the most results.

jamesbritt 12y ago
There's definitely way too much crankiness in the software world, and I don't think it's because the people are naturally negative people. It's because we're pragmatic people and we unconsciously gravitate towards the styles of communication that get the most results. Interesting. I'd gotten the impression that negative comments were a form of dick-waving. I.e., if you can spot the the numerous flaws in some tool or concept then you are clearly the superior-minded hacker. But I've never thought about it in terms of idea adoption or whether positive comments might have a lesser effect on people. I wonder if negative comments play off people's fear of being wrong or fear of being seen on the "losing" side. Maybe if you hear that there are good points for both Dreamweaver and [emas|vi|sublime] and it's a matter of personal preference and what works for you, then it's just some bit of data to file away. OTOH if you hear that Dreamweaver is simply evil and profoundly flawed then your adrenaline spikes; you don't want to be one of those people who use that tool. Kind of disappointing if true.
- mreiland 12y ago
  Because if "something sucks", you clearly are making the right decision by going with the other thing. As opposed to worrying about whether or not your decision was the right one because all of the options had really good upsides.
deleted 12y ago
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ogdenyogly 12y ago
I have this problem. I am perceived as relentlessly negative for pointing out obvious points of failure, ridiculous management, etc. Most people just parrot what management wants instead of what they need-- good advice. In reality I am trying to ensure the success of the project-- FAILURE IS THE DEFAULT OPTION.

jamesbritt 12y ago

There's definitely way too much crankiness in the software world, and I don't think it's because the people are naturally negative people. It's because we're pragmatic people and we unconsciously gravitate towards the styles of communication that get the most results. Interesting. I'd gotten the impression that negative comments were a form of dick-waving. I.e., if you can spot the the numerous flaws in some tool or concept then you are clearly the superior-minded hacker. But I've never thought about it in terms of idea adoption or whether positive comments might have a lesser effect on people. I wonder if negative comments play off people's fear of being wrong or fear of being seen on the "losing" side. Maybe if you hear that there are good points for both Dreamweaver and [emas|vi|sublime] and it's a matter of personal preference and what works for you, then it's just some bit of data to file away. OTOH if you hear that Dreamweaver is simply evil and profoundly flawed then your adrenaline spikes; you don't want to be one of those people who use that tool. Kind of disappointing if true.

mreiland 12y ago
Because if "something sucks", you clearly are making the right decision by going with the other thing. As opposed to worrying about whether or not your decision was the right one because all of the options had really good upsides.

deleted 12y ago

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ogdenyogly 12y ago

I have this problem. I am perceived as relentlessly negative for pointing out obvious points of failure, ridiculous management, etc. Most people just parrot what management wants instead of what they need-- good advice. In reality I am trying to ensure the success of the project-- FAILURE IS THE DEFAULT OPTION.