Re:X410 – X Server for Windows 10
by dang on Saturday April 18, 2020 @03:10PM
(#22910255)
Thanks for looking at those comments and getting them; you have no idea how much I appreciate that!
I agree that the GP comment was a shallow dismissal, and those often lead to generic subthreads, which tend to attract upvotes and replies and generally change the subject to a more generic topic, which is bad. Most of the damage is in the upvotes, actually, because the biggest problem comes from such a comment sitting at the top of a thread, accruing mass and choking out more specific and substantive discussion. That's a big problem on HN.
When we see generic subthreads or shallow dismissals or (worse) flamewar tangents at the top of an HN discussion, we downweight them. That has turned out to be a great solution, especially when the subthread isn't really violating the site guidelines. Its big weakness is that it requires us to know about it, and we don't come close to seeing everything that gets posted here. If you or anyone sees one of these discussion-choking subthreads sitting as the top comment, emailing [email protected] a heads-up would be a valuable contribution. Those are some of the best heads-ups we get, especially when a thread is still live.
I agree that the GP comment was a shallow dismissal, and those often lead to generic subthreads, which tend to attract upvotes and replies and generally change the subject to a more generic topic, which is bad. Most of the damage is in the upvotes, actually, because the biggest problem comes from such a comment sitting at the top of a thread, accruing mass and choking out more specific and substantive discussion. That's a big problem on HN.
When we see generic subthreads or shallow dismissals or (worse) flamewar tangents at the top of an HN discussion, we downweight them. That has turned out to be a great solution, especially when the subthread isn't really violating the site guidelines. Its big weakness is that it requires us to know about it, and we don't come close to seeing everything that gets posted here. If you or anyone sees one of these discussion-choking subthreads sitting as the top comment, emailing [email protected] a heads-up would be a valuable contribution. Those are some of the best heads-ups we get, especially when a thread is still live.