> HN is largely intolerant of jokes.

That has also been difficult for me. This cohort is sublimely brilliant in many ways and I treasure that, but it almost seems to be at the price of a sense of humor.

Another thing I've found is that simply asking questions often gets treated as an act of aggression. I have tried lots of ways of being more diplomatic and have failed completely. I will accept this as a shortcoming of my own, and I truly have attempted to be nicer somehow. My new solution is to ask them and just take the downvotes on the hopes that I also get a thoughtful answer. Doesn't work very well.

I think HN tolerance for jokes is exactly where it needs to be. Some good and non-obvious jokes make it through. Anything more would degrade into the stream of low effort humor which makes many other forums painful to read.

For those who weren't there and don't bear the scars, some keywords to Google:

  first post
  grits
  Natalie Portman
  in Soviet Russia...
  CowboyNeal

I think you are probably right.

There are lots of stupid, low-effort jokes that are little more than obvious tribal reference and hat tips. Allow one thing, it's hard not to allow them all; and in a subjective, memetically-active area with lots of easily-amused eyeballs around, stupid jokes end up deluging niche topics.

That said, a clever joke often manages to evade the downvotes, effectively meaning there's just a high-bar for humour. YA-TWSS need not apply.

Dont worry about the downvotes, you will gain them back when you post popular opinions or sensational news ;) But you can help by upvoting good questions, and things you do not agree with if its presented with facts. And upvote buried posts you think was wrongly downvoted.

Thanks for the pointers. I do indeed upvote good stuff even if I disagree, and buried posts (I like to check the New section regularly).

> I don't see that.

Glad to hear it. Could just be me, or that I have an abrasive way of asking questions. Have tried for a couple of years to regulate my behavior that way, but just haven't got the knack and recently decided to give up. Now I ask and just take the downvotes.

Peeked at your history (stalker alert). Your questions look ok. Don't worry about it.

Thanks kindly. I have tried to be better behaved because I am a guest in this house.

I've experimented with jokes. That isn't a cheap shot or pun, and it isn't the only thing I've got to say. But even if a cold truth said starkly gets a laugh, I don't really call it a joke, personally.

I usually don't call people assholes here, either, but this is just one of those lines that professors really must not cross but it's distressingly unsurprising.

Sigh...yeah...first thing I thought was "are you sure" then "how can you tell the difference", but knew I'd get tut-tutted about how 'that's not what we want on HN'.