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I wish I didn't have to worry about being "negative" in posting honestly about this site. It really is something awful, and reflects something disappointing abo

I wish I didn't have to worry about being "negative" in posting honestly about this site. It really is something awful, and reflects something disappointing about modern startup culture. First, the synthesis of floaty background nonsense constitutes a contribution to a problem, not a solution we've been looking for. This is akin to making an automatic reality show generator. Nothing could be less aspirational. Second, what's upsetting here is how technically uninteresting this particular bot is, and yet we have a comment thread vaguely waving hands and intimating that something marvelous and deeply technical is going on here. The third problem is the pretension. The word "stochastic" here simply means some coins were flipped. It's hard to imagine how you would be posting about a "deterministic" music generator. I think I need to wash my ears.

Hytosys 12y ago
"Nothing could be less aspirational" and "I think I need to wash my ears" aren't just negative, they are inconsiderate and unhelpful insults.
- radicalzebra 12y ago
  I think there is a problem with how shamelessly uncritical we can be, especially when imposing ourselves upon other walks of life, especially art. Startup culture should aspire to be more than a Tony Robbins convention.
  - Hytosys 12y ago
    I wholeheartedly agree that we should be free to critique, and I think that erikschoster (see his top-level comment in this submission) did a good job being negative yet helpful. I believe startup culture is mind-numbingly optimistic, too. With that said, there's a necessary balance between being critical and being empathetic.
dwaltrip 12y ago
I only listened for about 5 minutes, but it was actually pretty pleasant. Rather unlike your comment. Unfortunately, I'm 18 points away from being able to downvote, so I'm posting this instead. My recommendation: chill out and take a 30 second break before re-reading and then posting your comment. Also remember that a human being just like you spend a non-trivial amount of effort working on whatever it is you are looking at it. Then you might feel less inclined to naively shit all over it. One alternative approach, if you have nothing constructive to say: peacefully close the tab and move on with your day.
- radicalzebra 12y ago
  Humans spend far less trivial amounts of time creating works of literature. A novel may consume three years of an author's life. And yet for years society has been enriched by a lively and often sharply critical literary discourse. By comparison, this is a trivial project, and yet the culture is so much more defensive. You even threaten to downvote me! (oh my). How can you simultaneously want to change the world and clamor for censorship?
  - joshdotsmith 12y ago
    Censorship? Hardly. A downvote is just the easiest way for them to signal their displeasure. The cultural attitude you see prevalent here defending creators is due to the community's wont to make this a safe place for sharing, especially given the recent efforts at making "Show HN" a first-class citizen. Constructive criticism is a good thing, but I don't think that's missing from HN. What dwaltrip (and Hytosys below) are suggesting is that your criticism is not in the least bit constructive, and takes a tone that would otherwise negate any constructive bits. I concur. If you're curious to see how a comment might actually be constructive in the course of being critical, I'd seriously consider erikschoster's comment.
  - dwaltrip 12y ago
    My main point is that you can critically comment without being a dick. I could have been more clear about that. Also, I wasn't threatening to downvote, I was explaining why I was creating a somewhat low content post.

Hytosys 12y ago

"Nothing could be less aspirational" and "I think I need to wash my ears" aren't just negative, they are inconsiderate and unhelpful insults.

radicalzebra 12y ago
I think there is a problem with how shamelessly uncritical we can be, especially when imposing ourselves upon other walks of life, especially art. Startup culture should aspire to be more than a Tony Robbins convention.
- Hytosys 12y ago
  I wholeheartedly agree that we should be free to critique, and I think that erikschoster (see his top-level comment in this submission) did a good job being negative yet helpful. I believe startup culture is mind-numbingly optimistic, too. With that said, there's a necessary balance between being critical and being empathetic.

dwaltrip 12y ago

I only listened for about 5 minutes, but it was actually pretty pleasant. Rather unlike your comment. Unfortunately, I'm 18 points away from being able to downvote, so I'm posting this instead. My recommendation: chill out and take a 30 second break before re-reading and then posting your comment. Also remember that a human being just like you spend a non-trivial amount of effort working on whatever it is you are looking at it. Then you might feel less inclined to naively shit all over it. One alternative approach, if you have nothing constructive to say: peacefully close the tab and move on with your day.

radicalzebra 12y ago
Humans spend far less trivial amounts of time creating works of literature. A novel may consume three years of an author's life. And yet for years society has been enriched by a lively and often sharply critical literary discourse. By comparison, this is a trivial project, and yet the culture is so much more defensive. You even threaten to downvote me! (oh my). How can you simultaneously want to change the world and clamor for censorship?
- joshdotsmith 12y ago
  Censorship? Hardly. A downvote is just the easiest way for them to signal their displeasure. The cultural attitude you see prevalent here defending creators is due to the community's wont to make this a safe place for sharing, especially given the recent efforts at making "Show HN" a first-class citizen. Constructive criticism is a good thing, but I don't think that's missing from HN. What dwaltrip (and Hytosys below) are suggesting is that your criticism is not in the least bit constructive, and takes a tone that would otherwise negate any constructive bits. I concur. If you're curious to see how a comment might actually be constructive in the course of being critical, I'd seriously consider erikschoster's comment.
- dwaltrip 12y ago
  My main point is that you can critically comment without being a dick. I could have been more clear about that. Also, I wasn't threatening to downvote, I was explaining why I was creating a somewhat low content post.