Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> Sorry, but how is telling someone they're joking being disrespectful?

Because you know I wasn't joking. You're saying that what I'm saying is a joke when you know I'm serious. They're not lawyering gymnastics. It's instantly felt by those who read it. It's not a monotone reading and retroactive "hey, that was disrespectful". It hurts immediately after reading those words.

> I meant that in a humorous way, not in a hurtful way

It may be humorous to those reading and on your side, but is hurtful to the person you're replying to. That's what we're trying to avoid here.

There are ways to point things out or make arguments without hurting. Like instead of saying

> you must be joking

You could say

> that doesn't make sense to me

Or instead of saying

> Source, your ass?

You could say

> Do you have a source for that?

The key here is that anyone can say "your ass" and "you must be joking" but it doesn't make your argument, a better argument. No new claim was made. No new evidence was given. It was only added because it gave you a little high and it gave you that high because it was an attack.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: