As someone who is older and with a lot more life experience I am often not aligned with HN 20-something culture. I have experienced the flaming oil on my head and other atrocities of mob rule here.
Unlike you, I am not sure this will ever change. To this day I can post comments yet cannot start threads due to a ban from probably three or four years ago that I am absolutely convinced had to do with moderator's political views being opposite mine. I imaging a petulant "I'll show him. Click" event.
Mobs win online because cowards are able to self-identify as part of the "culture" and participate in isolation. They easily derive enjoyment out of, to use your wonderfully descriptive image, standing atop the castle. In real life these people would sit there and hardly participate in face to face conversations.
Anonymity empowers a certain type. I have not seen this kind of thing happen in, for example, LinkedIn, and, within my limited experience, Facebook. I have given full day seminars to groups of hundreds of people at a time in many parts of the world, maybe even a couple of thousand in one occasion. People are polite in person. People are different in person. People spew out less hatred and nonsense in person because they are always afraid of the consequences and they have something to lose. Not here. Not online. And definitely not on HN.
As someone who is older and with a lot more life experience I am often not aligned with HN 20-something culture. I have experienced the flaming oil on my head and other atrocities of mob rule here.
Unlike you, I am not sure this will ever change. To this day I can post comments yet cannot start threads due to a ban from probably three or four years ago that I am absolutely convinced had to do with moderator's political views being opposite mine. I imaging a petulant "I'll show him. Click" event.
Mobs win online because cowards are able to self-identify as part of the "culture" and participate in isolation. They easily derive enjoyment out of, to use your wonderfully descriptive image, standing atop the castle. In real life these people would sit there and hardly participate in face to face conversations.
Anonymity empowers a certain type. I have not seen this kind of thing happen in, for example, LinkedIn, and, within my limited experience, Facebook. I have given full day seminars to groups of hundreds of people at a time in many parts of the world, maybe even a couple of thousand in one occasion. People are polite in person. People are different in person. People spew out less hatred and nonsense in person because they are always afraid of the consequences and they have something to lose. Not here. Not online. And definitely not on HN.