Re:Show HN: I built an active community of trans people online
by dang on Friday January 24, 2025 @12:52AM
(#42810827)
> Respectful conversation involves sarcasm and satire
It can in some contexts! For example with friends or close colleagues, or a small group of familiars. But the context is the dominant variable. In a context like HN (a large, public, optionally anonymous internet forum), sarcasm and satire and snark are far more likely to come across as cheap attacks. That likelihood is so high that such messages should either be avoided or disambiguated enough that the median reader—someone who doesn't know you or anything about you—can still detect that you're conversing respectfully.
This sucks a bit, because it means we're all subject to a certain blandness here. But the alternative is the war of all against all, followed by scorched earth, and there isn't much of a choice.
It can in some contexts! For example with friends or close colleagues, or a small group of familiars. But the context is the dominant variable. In a context like HN (a large, public, optionally anonymous internet forum), sarcasm and satire and snark are far more likely to come across as cheap attacks. That likelihood is so high that such messages should either be avoided or disambiguated enough that the median reader—someone who doesn't know you or anything about you—can still detect that you're conversing respectfully.
This sucks a bit, because it means we're all subject to a certain blandness here. But the alternative is the war of all against all, followed by scorched earth, and there isn't much of a choice.
https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...