xkcd on the comment policy of News.YC(xkcd.com)
xkcd.com
xkcd on the comment policy of News.YC
http://xkcd.com/438/
6 comments
I think the face-to-face rule is a bad one. Even PG in his Things You Can't Say concludes that you shouldn't say certain things to anyone but close friends, valuable though these ideas may be.
Of coure, that only applies face-to-face. If you are anonymous on the internet, as I am on this forum, you don't have to self-censor. And yet, I do it anyway, just because the spirit of conformity and self-censorship permeates this place so much. My comments were better on Reddit, when Reddit was still worth going to. And so were the comments of others.
Quality of the average comment is not what matters. It's the quality of the best comments that does. If you eliminate half of the top 5% and all of bottom 50% of comments, you've made the community worse.
Of coure, that only applies face-to-face. If you are anonymous on the internet, as I am on this forum, you don't have to self-censor. And yet, I do it anyway, just because the spirit of conformity and self-censorship permeates this place so much. My comments were better on Reddit, when Reddit was still worth going to. And so were the comments of others.
Quality of the average comment is not what matters. It's the quality of the best comments that does. If you eliminate half of the top 5% and all of bottom 50% of comments, you've made the community worse.
The cartoon is cool, like every other xkcd cartoon, but has nothing whatsoever to do with News.YC.
"Don't say things you wouldn't say in a face to face conversation."
http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
Is it really "on news.yc" as much as Buddha's (or whomever) teachings is "on news.yc"? I believe that's swombat's argument.
Right. Unfortunately the title evokes "Great Job Redditors! We Got ___ To Do ___!"
"You can make up a new title if you want, but if you put gratuitous editorial spin on it, the editors may rewrite it."
When you have disputes on the internet a magic fairy takes you to meet the other person face to face. This supposedly resolves all animosity and things resume normal.
That will work. Sure.
That will work. Sure.
not face-to-face... more like grass is greener / other man's shoes...
I think it's face to face. And if I could see you right now
I would tell that to you.
I can be quite rude face-to-face. So long as a magic fairy is protecting me, why not?
For future reference, instead of arguing with me, just have your angel put this into her GPS:
Latitude: 40.441333
Longitude: -79.769018
I'll have beer for you and nectar for her.
Latitude: 40.441333
Longitude: -79.769018
I'll have beer for you and nectar for her.
Monroeville, next to the 376 near Pittsburgh huh? Yeah, I digitally stalked you on Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Latitude%3A%2040.441333%20Long...
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Right. You just won a free beer at the Penn Monroe.
If I ever meet you I will KICK YOUR ASS!!!!!!
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I think it's adorable how the karma points went up and down in this thread. Who are you people upvoting and downvoting, because I would really really like to meet you folks face to face.
Of course there is some difference in face-to-face debate. Probably blatant, irrelevant personal attacks decrease, for example. But that is more because they are instant debate killers since the other person will likely just walk away. The more integrated meanness – hostility, caustic zingers, and the overall drive to embarrass your opponent – is definitely still present.
I think the issue isn't the separation between the two people debating: it's that other people are standing around watching. The publicness of comments is what leads to nasty behavior. Comment threads end up not being two people's search for truth, but their attempts to impress and gain audience support. It becomes a performance.
And I don't think people necessarily intend to do it – it's something you sorta fall into. You may realize you're sacrificing any chance to sway your opponents by being mean or embarrassing them, but the thought of a hundred other people admiring your ass-handing abilities or laughing at your stinging zinger can make the sacrifice seem worthwhile.
To help me be a better commenter I don't ask, "What would I say if this was face to face?" I ask, "What would I say if no one else could see this but the person I'm arguing with?"