←back to thread

Hacker News Guidelines

(news.ycombinator.com)
446 points tonmoy | 1 comments | 24 Aug 23 16:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.204s | source
Show context
yjftsjthsd-h ◴[24 Aug 23 17:09 UTC] No.37251581[source]▶
The one thing I wish was added - either in the guidelines or as a change to the actual web UI - was replying to a comment that you're downvoting; it's frustrating both to have one's own comments downvoted without explanation, and to come across a comment that's grey without obvious reason (Was it factually incorrect? Endorsing an unpopular idea? It's not always obvious).

(I'm not saying HN should do exactly the same thing, but one example is Slashdot's system where a comment can get downvoted in a way that tags it specifically as trolling/offtopic/whatever - https://slashdot.org/faq/mod-metamod.shtml seems to describe it alright)

replies(9): >>37251672 #>>37251684 #>>37251692 #>>37252205 #>>37252423 #>>37252679 #>>37254129 #>>37254592 #>>37254827 #
jedberg ◴[24 Aug 23 17:14 UTC] No.37251672[source]▶
It's an interesting idea, but you'd end up with a situation where the worse the comment, the more discussion it generates due to the forced replies, which is sort of the opposite of what you want.
replies(3): >>37251715 #>>37251821 #>>37254836 #
arfafaerhgaq5[dead post] ◴[24 Aug 23 17:23 UTC] No.37251821[source]▶
[flagged]
TX81Z ◴[24 Aug 23 17:28 UTC] No.37251883[source]▶
In the market of ideas you’re failing, and that’s the signal you’re getting.

It sounds like you don’t care to adjust to “the crowd”, which is fine, but then you have to deal with the consequences.

replies(3): >>37252126 #>>37252451 #>>37256935 #
NoMoreNicksLeft ◴[24 Aug 23 18:05 UTC] No.37252451[source]▶
This is not only a "market of ideas", but a virtual world. And in the sense that it is a virtual world, you're also telling him "you can't exist here".

Which is a pretty shitty thing to say regardless, but when the real world withers away from us a little more every year, it starts to become monstrous.

replies(3): >>37252600 #>>37253189 #>>37255004 #
1. lliamander ◴[24 Aug 23 21:50 UTC] No.37255004[source]▶
> you're also telling him "you can't exist here".

No, we are saying his behavior is unacceptable, and that if he wishes to participate in this community he will need to conform to those standards.

It is not a mercy to allow bad behavior in order to be more "welcoming".

What if this were an in-person community, and the above commenter had a problem with personal space and non-consenual touching? Not only are you driving everyone else away, but you are also risking legal consequences (or worse).

The way to help such people is have firm boundaries and clear rules. If the above commenter had any question about what constituted an acceptable comment, he could refer to the HN guidelines which the subject of this very thread.