Re:Why I now, unfortunately, hate Hacker News..
by snogglethorpe on Thursday August 23, 2012 @04:25AM
(#4421418)
> Although I hate snarky, nonconstructive comments as much as everybody else
Sure, I sorta agree, but ... there's snark, and then, well, there's snark.
Sometimes snarky, non-constructive comments can be really funny and/or satisfying. I don't want them to dominate the conversation, and a lot of snark is just sort of stupid, but ...
I disagree and find such a community engineering approach dangerous for the health of the very community it's trying to "save". I think there are two big problems with it: (i) It gives too much power to the gatekeeper(s), be it software or human, and (ii) it creates a bias for positive comments.
This is the typical dilemma: Bad comments and a free forum are two sides of the same coin. Although I hate snarky, nonconstructive comments as much as everybody else, I think that trying to curtail one may also damage HN's innovative and free atmosphere, which is its main asset.