HN: All of the negativity and toxicity of a Reddit discussion, without having to get disturbed by something as unproductive as smiling or a laughing!
In all seriousness, the average HN comment thread feel a lot less pleasant than the average Reddit thread. Granted, Reddit has way worse places, but comparing HN to all of Reddit is illogical - HN compares more to a single (large/active) subreddit.
> In all seriousness, the average HN comment thread feel a lot less pleasant than the average Reddit thread.
I disagree strongly actually. HN'ers to me make sense, in many ways. Redditors are a crap shoot. I go in with the HN mindset on Reddit and it's 50% reasonable and 50% "what the hell am I reading?"
HN is 95% reasonable.
I understand that to some it's an acquired taste but it was home to me from the moment I discovered it.
I don't mind the Reddit-esque comments here. It's on brand for the topic. I get that when someone has a more serious disposition in life, that this topic would feel a bit grating.
> HN compares more to a single (large/active) subreddit.
HN is indeed one of the few places in the web that I think maintains a more community-like platform and it's a home for me too. However I think how reasonable is the general ethos depends on the topic. It goes without saying that tech is it's strong suit, so the 95% figure (which I read as "the vast majority") is reasonable. For other topics like social problems, civil liberties and personal responsibilities is way less reasonable than that, I'd say half-half...
I have fun with a friend of mine sharing ridiculous comments on such topics and there is no shortage of those.
I have to give props to the moderation though. More often than not, these comments are flagged and die really quick.
The part of Reddit I go to is roughly equal parts memes, serious discussions and derailed threads.
Here I feel like I just lost the first part, so 50/50 between serious discussions and derailed threads.
Either is moderated to be without anything eye-gouging (again, comparing HN to specific subreddits that would carry similar content, and not reddit as a whole).
Sure, some individuals might prefer things this way, but it's definitely not objectively better as the general attitude towards reddit and against any humor seems to suggest.
In all seriousness, the average HN comment thread feel a lot less pleasant than the average Reddit thread. Granted, Reddit has way worse places, but comparing HN to all of Reddit is illogical - HN compares more to a single (large/active) subreddit.