That crosses into personal attack and is not allowed. Your account doesn't seem to have a history of doing this on HN, so I'm going to put it down to the weird sort of pothole in the road that occasionally leads to a near-collision. But please don't do it again. paulsutter has been a great HN contributor for years and did not deserve this.

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13799970 and marked it off-topic.

Ok then, I just deleted my bio, if that helps.

As for HN points, that just indicates procrastination (spending too much time on HN).

Well, now you are trying to increase your status as someone who doesn't care about status. The fact that you felt it worthwhile to delete your bio, just to prove to some random internet stranger that you don't care about status, clearly shows that you care.

It is ok to care about how others perceive you. We are social creatures, and we care about what others think. That isn't a bad thing.

I assure you I'm a nerd with no social standing whatsoever, and I'm almost flattered to be considered otherwise here in this thread.

And yes we're social creatures, and we all want to be understood and appreciated. But that's quite a different thing from pursuing social status.

I don't think it IS different.... being 'understood and appreciated' is exactly what social status is.

No, social status is a zero sum /ranking/ of individuals and inherently competitive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_status

> Ok then, I just deleted my bio, if that helps.

Oh no! please put it back. The value to other HN users far exceeds the cost of a weird personal snipe, uncalled-for though it was.

Do you really think he's trying to sell himself as elite or just mention his past job roles? Sometimes that context can be useful, especially if you want to email him (which he includes).

I realize the point you're trying to make. I'm just not sure it's applicable here.

That's the point: it's incorrect to dismiss status seeking as something only aspiring elites do. There's status in every group.

I understand that people can seek status in every group. But that doesn't mean that talking about your career, in a status section that very few people bother to check, is the same as gloating.

If OP prefaced every comment with "by the way, I was the founder of such-and-such which was acquired" and then went on to discuss something completely different, THAT would be status seeking. Instead, it was a very short, objective summary of his career in perhaps a dozen words.

My point is simple: not everybody is status seeking all the time. Sometimes people are just trying to communicate with no ulterior motive.