Sorry if this is a stupid question, but can someone please explain what this reply means? It isn't the first time I've seen "* * *" and I'm wondering what it's significance is?
I believe @dang has addressed this before. You see it when someone has configured a "delay" (see the input field at the bottom of your settings page [0]) which is an integer value representing the number of minutes before which your comment is "published" (visible to other users) - it's meant to be a short window of time where you can edit your comment before anyone has seen it. Once the delay has expired, other users will see the comment.
I've personally never observed it, but I use the HN website, which I think just doesn't render the comment during the delay period. IIRC, you'll see the asterisks when viewing comments in alternative clients that fetch them from the API.
I’m aged 31, and completely relate. I think it really started with my current role but I haven’t been able to pinpoint when exactly, having been here just shy of 2.5 years now. I’ve lost count of the Sunday nights I’ve had filled with dread for the week ahead, or feeling a failure for not completing work quickly enough. Current COVID situation hasn’t made things any easier really. I often fantasise about leaving tech altogether, I feel like I’m slowly losing the mental energy needed to keep going day by day. Unfortunately, this is the only area in skilled in and with a partner to support I feel I need to think very carefully even though I’d like nothing more than to just resign tomorrow.
Echoing what others have said, I have found exercise helpful at times to quiet feelings of anxiety and stress, but I do still feel things lingering at the back of my mind at the beat of times.
