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You know, if we were standing around at an artist's gallery opening, or at a home having dinner and discussion, or just walking down the sidewalk in the flesh-and-blood world, that comment would have been considered a small, but useful and positive contribution to the discussion. In fact, you'd probably know that F_J_H is a successful business owner with 50 employees, so you'd note that that's how successful people behave and try to emulate him. But here, since there's "upvotes", it appears to have gotten a -1 (based on the shade of gray text).

And I want to take the opportunity to say that I think comments like this don't merit negativity. Treat them like you'd treat them in the world: polite comment, move on. It's like walking down the road and there's a purple thistle flower in all its spiny glory. Purple. Pretty. Move on. You don't have to go stamping it out just because there's a social belief that lawns should only have grass.




Seems like a simple matter of signal to noise ratio to me. That single comment by itself does no real harm, but if it's not discouraged, the practice will proliferate.

The situations you cite do not include the potential for noise overwhelming the signal, so they are not analogous.

I know that a downvote can seem like a judgment on the person, but it's more a judgment on the action, and it can be instructive if taken that way.

[Edit: Not that I've been here that long, but that's how I understand the phenomenon.]


As someone who has been here long, I can say for certain that HN would only benefit from politeness similar to F_J_H.


Consider me enlightened. Thanks.


Sorry. It's definitely not my place to "enlighten" you. I don't want to be that kind of person.

I just am compelled to speak up for what I believe to be right. I didn't mean to sound like I was attacking your opinion, so in retrospect, I shouldn't be saying things like "I can say with absolute certainty..." I don't know anything for certain.

I just believe that the world is a nice place when people can simply say nice things to each other every once in awhile.


this whole branch was useful to me, I now know that F_J_H is very successful and polite. context is one of the reasons I am here.




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