I don't see anything in my comment that is more against HN guidelines, nor more uncalled for, than the humblebrag in the original comment.
If mine was over that line, so are a good 30% of HN comments. Seeing as those comments exist, I think your comment flagging criteria are what need to be adjusted here.
Frankly I think you're just annoyed because the reaction to your comment was not "oh wow this guy could work for Jane Street if he wanted but he doesn't because he doesn't want to move cities. Wow so cool"
My intent when I made that statement was not how you interpreted it. Its people genuinely impress me. And besides, what if I could work for them? Wouldn’t you be happy for me? Why the sour grapes?
As the Guidelines also state (paraphrasing): use the most charitable interpretation of a fellow member’s contributions.
Lots of companies manage to impress lots of incompetent, arrogant people. Your initial comment sounded like such a person and mothing you've said since has done anything to disabuse the reader of that. "The rules say you're not supposed to reply with sarcasm! Flagging your comment!" says the person that Jane Street would totally love to hire.
Like I said, you're just annoyed someone is criticizing your arrogance. If you weren't being arrogant, then my initial reply is utterly unobjectionable; it's only unkind or sarcastic in response to the arrogant interpretation of your initial comment, and is inert to the "best possible" interpretation by the rules you don't follow but want others to.
Way to double down on being a dick, dude.
Calling me a dick seems to violate the kindness rule you are about so much. Don't the guidelines say you should not comment and move on?
Doctor, heal thyself.
As a sometimes arrogant non-hypocrite who has that self awareness, I feel I am well positioned to help you notice yourself in the mirror.
Look, dude. At this point two of your most aggressive comments have been downvoted and killed. That is additional community feedback you should be paying heed to, and it’s clear that you’re just not getting the message. Instead you just keep doubling down.
Take the L and move on. If you think you’re still in the right, show this thread to your spouse (if you have one), parents, manager, and trusted friends who will give you unvarnished feedback, and see what they say.
Consider also that of all the replies to my original comment, yours is the only one that responded acridly out of a belief that I was humblebragging.
I’m through with this discussion.
I've encountered an asshole. It doesn't happen often, but it does sometimes happen. I'm sure I'm just one of many assholes you meet
I take your point, but the humor, if it was that, was made clumsily and was not well received. It’s not just me who felt that way; it was downvoted and eventually killed.
In truth, the rules here are intentionally vague, so they can be used as a cudgel by people who don't like what they read. For the mods it's for behavioral control, and for the users it's for thought control. The mods want the website to be a financial tool for YC, and the users want all opinions to mirror their own. But HN is built awkwardly, and forces too many different kinds of users into one tiny space. So the mods do what they can to remove submissions and kill comments, to make the appearance of some kind of nerd chat gestalt. This thread is an example of that failed attempt at enforced harmony. You can't punish people into electing to behave the way you want, it just makes them angry.
Of course some people will get angry and defensive when they cross the lines and get called out on it. That’s just human nature. (YouTube is chock full of examples.)
It doesn’t mean enforcement isn’t necessary, though. The owners have made it clear that they don’t want this site to devolve into a free-for-all full of sniping and bile. Their house, their rules. Want to be a dick? There are other venues for that.
facepalm
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