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HN does sometimes position itself in opposition to Reddit. Nothing wrong with Reddit, of course, just that Reddit does thing sone way and HN does things another. And snarky low-value comments are one of the things that Reddit does and HN does not.
But: because HN doesn't generally do them, you can sometimes get away with the odd one, if it's timed right. Personally, I upvoted this one.
Dang needs to step in and put a warning at top in each of these threads (I think he did it once in one of the main threads). Those tend to be really helpful. The discourse aroung Elon Musk on HN is seething with irrational hate and not a whole lot of sensibility.
I feel like I should hit the 10k karma point and bail out of here. I definitely do not fit here ideologically, politically and intellectually anymore.
Nah, just an arbitrary point to stop. I used to get so much back from HN community, all kinds of cool ideas and great overall discussion. These days even those discussions have become strangely elementary and appealing to lowest common denominator. I am constantly downvoted here for going against the grain and it's not that much fun. That's made me more resentful and I also downvote everyone else. Nevermind the extreme progressive politics here. It is not mentally healthy. It could also be that I am changing and going offtrack mentally.
I feel you on this, but I don't know if HN is the problem. This culture war has broke a lot of people's brains (regardless of what internet communities they're part of), to the point where nuanced discussion on any topic is rather difficult nay impossible.
For people that are captured by this form of thinking, everything is framed in for or against terms. If something or someone can be placed, even conceptually, as against their side; they fail the purity test or make a decision that isn't strictly kosher, well then every single thing they do needs to be hyper analyzed, then framed in a dispassionate if not fully negative perspective.
Like you, I'm getting very tired of this discorse. I'm sure for people who view things this way it can be exhausting, as you constantly have to be reframing everything in ever evolving terms of political doctrine. I don't think this will last. Ordinary people are getting tired of it, and I think these puritans are starting to get real pushback in the open. A totally anecdotal opinion, but hopefully one that resonates a bit.
In anycase I think the best thing we can all do is try our best to be objective, compassionate, and nuanced when evaluating people or events. Life is complex and its elements don't fit into a binary of good and evil.
You might try only engaging in things you find will provide value to you.? You mention politics and it can be difficult to discuss those topics today, especially online and more so when people can be essentially anonymous and trollish.
I personally stopped using Twitter, try to limit the scope of my engagement on Reddit, and am trying to read more of what I would consider reputable sources of information instead of ‘going to the comments to get the real facts’. I’ve found using RSS and just reading articles (rather than going into the comment section to get takes) has been somewhat helpful.
Also just disconnecting every once and I while is helpful. But it kind of feels like I personally am addicted to the information…so that can be hard.
Sorry for the rant, just wanted to share what I have found somewhat helpful. Cheers
The right Twitter feed will probably feed your curiosity the right way. That's where I am pulled these days. Maybe Musk's long-form promises might actually make it viable. HN is definitely not the place for aggressive independent-mindedness these days.
