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I applaud them for publicizing the implications of the default privacy settings for Spotlight, but hyperbolic titles like the one used here hurt their credibili
by mwfunk 12y ago
I applaud them for publicizing the implications of the default privacy settings for Spotlight, but hyperbolic titles like the one used here hurt their credibility unnecessarily.
I know some people think that using hyperbole for effect is a thing. They tend to be very young, smart people who are starting to realize what they're capable of but are still trapped on the wrong side of the Dunning-Kruger curve. The most common defense people give is that they assume the reader or listener knows that the hyperbole shouldn't be taken literally, and that they're really trying to convey how strongly they feel about their much more reasonable actual opinion on the matter.
However, to me (and, I would hope, to most people), hyperbole in technical discussions means that the person is either immature in a way that makes them less credible, or that they are lying to me and assume I'm dumb enough to believe them. Or it's clickbait, or all of the above.
I don't think the author(s) of this site are any of those things, but I also know that Yosemite as a whole is not designed to take away 100% of your privacy, which is what the title implies. This is also what turns me off about a lot of FSF propaganda, and most politicians regardless of their beliefs.
- dstein64 12y ago> I don't think the author(s) of this site are any of those things, but I also know that Yosemite as a whole is not designed to take away 100% of your privacy, which is what the title implies. This is also what turns me off about a lot of FSF propaganda, and most politicians regardless of their beliefs. Are your referring to the title of the HN submission, "Mac OS X Yosemite – No Privacy, by Design"? That text does not appear on the website. The website refers to "parts of Mac OS X which are invasive to your privacy."
- mwfunk 12y agoYep. I could be wrong here, but I thought that HN had a policy where the titles used are taken verbatim from the page being linked to, unless they're so completely terrible that an alternative title is needed. If the HN title doesn't come from the site, then my apologies to the authors for harping about this.
- dstein64 12y ago> I thought that HN had a policy where the titles used are taken verbatim from the page being linked to, unless they're so completely terrible that an alternative title is needed. It seems that's the intent expressed in the HN Guidelines (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html): "Please don't do things to make titles stand out, like using uppercase or exclamation points, or adding a parenthetical remark saying how great an article is. It's implicit in submitting something that you think it's important. ... Otherwise please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait."
- pXMzR2A 12y ago>>> hyperbolic titles like the one used here hurt their credibility unnecessarily. >> That text does not appear on the website > I could be wrong here RTFA.
- ljfuller 12y ago> I applaud them for publicizing the implications of the default privacy settings for Spotlight, but hyperbolic titles like the one used here hurt their credibility unnecessarily. That particular title seems to be an editorial flourish on the part of the submitter -- that phrase does not appear on the actual site.