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Two HN Announcements

(blog.ycombinator.com)
698 points tilt | 2 comments | 29 Sep 15 18:40 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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unabst ◴[29 Sep 15 23:33 UTC] No.10300619[source]▶
The biggest lost opportunity I find here on HN are not with the comments moderated poorly or that were banned, but with the comments never posted and the discussions that never happened because of harsh anonymous downvoting.

Donwvotes on HN are anonymous and silent. This equates to being slapped in the face by someone with a mask on while you're in the middle of a conversation, without knowing why, and not being able to do anything about it. In a real conversation, disagreeing with someone involves actually opening your mouth and talking to that person, and even then is not rewarded with an immediate punishment to the person you're disagreeing with. This is what leads to a discussion, or better yet, a debate. Instead, the only recourse on HN is to change how you talk or to keep quiet.

But at this point I must assume this is an intentional design decision, and I adjust my tone and substance accordingly. But I wouldn't be writing this if I weren't okay with HN's rules.

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(edit/addendum: this isn't to say there are no discussions or debates on HN... but I hope other's agree there is something uniquely HN about most of them)

replies(5): >>10300778 #>>10300905 #>>10301270 #>>10301432 #>>10301654 #
1. sumitviii ◴[30 Sep 15 00:30 UTC] No.10300905[source]▶
Its because in real conversations, you talk to 1-2 other people and not a million. If a lot of people are discussing something (as they do in parliaments) people have a way of upvoting (by banging tables) or downvoting (booing) others.
replies(1): >>10301508 #
2. unabst ◴[30 Sep 15 03:13 UTC] No.10301508[source]▶
When I post I may be putting it out there, but if anyone replies, I'd like to think we are having a conversation. Or like now, I'd like to think this reply is to you, and not to a million people. More people may be reading, but we're not really talking until they join the conversation.

In real life, I would never throw a tomato at someone I overheard saying something I disagree with to someone else -- but that is HN. By design, I assume, but still.