alt Hacker NewsIt’s not really helpful in furthering good discussion, though, and it assumes too much.
To compare a reply to being akin to/belonging on Reddit is to say that it is low-effort or not intellectually rigorous, but this critique is self-defeating because it is itself low-effort and is usually not substantiated or justified, so it just rubs people on HN the wrong way.
This is especially true when it nearly bumps up against the part of the HN guidelines which admonish us to not compare HN itself to Reddit.
When saying an individual comment belongs on Reddit or is like those on Reddit, that is against the guidelines’ spirit in the small scale the same way as saying HN proper is becoming like Reddit is against the guidelines by the book in the large scale, so I don’t really think the comparison is helpful or defensible. It adds little to nothing to the discussion it accompanies, but rather undercuts it. When stated absent any other discussion, it’s nearly impossible to read it as anything but a bad faith swipe and/or flamebait.
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Great points, thank you!
I use it as shorthand for “this is received wisdom that you likely haven’t thought about critically and are just saying because it tends to please the reddit hive mind”.
Which is something I did indeed want to say in addition to my actual point.
But I also take your point that it is aggressive, is not related to the substance of the discussion, and is reasonable to not want to see on HN. Will avoid in the future :)