themodelplumber

2022 Ukraine Conflict Notes & Resources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Doxmc1W7WNI

--Marc

PS Have you ever posted a Helveticomment? Have you ever been the _Extraterrestrial_? Here are some phenomena I've noticed on HN over the years...

--The Helveticomment--

This is one of the weirdest experiences you can have while participating on HN. It also might be a sign that you understand the current thread and its topical sh-- at a level that not many others do...or, it may simply mean that you can produce original thinking about the topic, which is cool.

Helveticomment Example: You comment on an article or entry which ends up getting a _lot_ of comments. Yours was one of the first comments there from the start, yet it has received no upvotes or downvotes. Quite often it will have no replies, either.

This is a really strange feeling for the commenter, because the comment, which comes straight from your deep and thoughtful experiences, will often end up buried, while a bunch of really basic discussions, or "let me sum this up" comments float up to the top of the thread. I've seen this happen to others (reasonably sure despite not seeing the actual upvote count), and I've seen it happen to just a few of my comments.

I call this the Helveticomment, which is a combination of "Helvetia" and "comment", because the state of the comment is neutral. It's like the Switzerland of comments, sitting there between all these warring comment-thread countries. And yet, at the same time, it's an educated comment and not really lacking in quality despite the big noise happening around it.

If it's true that you're educated on the topic--or maybe even if not--the phenomenon can certainly give you that feeling of being an overlooked genius. But the surprising sense of neutrality and disconnect from the general discourse can also be a great moment to leverage into a coffee break during which you can further reflect within the environs of your unique mind.

(This is all assuming you haven't been muted in some way...)

--The IWBWYW--

This is an interesting Ask HN phenomenon:

"Ask HN: What do YOU look for in an online service that you'd subscribe to?"

"Ask HN: What do YOU want from your software? Tell me your dreams, your desires!"

"Ask HN: What do YOU love to pay for, in terms of tech services?"

"Ask HN: What do YOU think is missing in the software world today?"

The posts always start like that.

And the point is, op is looking to build what you want. For you! As a service. One that other people can pay for, too!

(So: You are to provide a specification, which implies a request and a time / cost burden on the creative inventor, and in return it is implied that you are to provide your customer attendance and associating funding on opening day--is a blunt, but I think fair way of putting this.)

These are what I call "I Will Build What YOU Want" (IWBWYW) posts.

Sometimes the implied offers/queries seem generous, even irresponsibly so. (For example, in these cases there's generally no "Sub-section A: Enter the amount you will pay me for this")

At other times they are filtered as the threads develop: From "Ehhh, OK. But I can't build that by myself" (this brings the Ask post further into focus for everyone) to "Hmm, interesting, I will have to think about that one."

And at other times a bunch of spectators jump in, apparently to cause random interference and pain for op, who for all we know is in desperate need of some money. Somebody comments, "I want this thing that does X and Y" and then they get a reply from another passer-by: "Just use service Z, it already exists?"

Uh, I'm sure the thread author really appreciates that!

Either way, as much as I admire the can-do attitude, I sometimes have to avoid IWBWYW posts, as they remind me of my days knocking doors and selling religion.

Knock knock. (Ton ton! This was in Japanese)

"What would make you happier than anything right now?"

--The Extraterrestrial--

I see these people in various online tech communities from time to time and have been one myself...

This is a name for someone who leaves a relevant comment or starts a comment thread where other commenters admit they don't know wtf the original commenter (the ET) is talking about, but share that they are intrigued, and/or ask for more information.

The other commenters want details, but the details won't help the discussion right now because 1) they will need time to review and process, 2) it's not an appropriate venue for long-form explanations or Q&A, and 3) those asking still lack insight that only comes from experience.

Since the information cannot be processed meaningfully, the original commenter and their experience might as well be from another planet, and all other people can do is make light commentary (which is specifically against guidelines in some communities), stare, mumble, wander off to ponder life, etc. It is difficult to respond even if the reception is positive.

Compounding things a bit, this can feel like a real perplexing situation in a community based on common intellectual values (knowledge, competency, interest in various learning and even some esoteric topics). Commenters generally expect that they can jump into a thread and either contribute or share some experience. The ET may have also expected that others would know about or have some experience in the domain in question.

So, the ET will get comments like "uh huh, interesting I'll check this out" or something similar. They may suss out that this kind of comment is not exactly a proud moment for either side of the conversation (it kind of should be, if it's relevant and new though, right?).

They realize that community members are definitely not their colleagues or peers, even though values are shared.

The result is that the commenter feels like they are from another planet. They are an Extraterrestrial (ET). They may therefore feel pressure to find a better home, leave the community for a while, etc.

They may also be concerned that if a non-ET really dissects...ahem, I mean scrutinizes...them with the wrong tools, amount of experience with the topic, or skeptical attitudes, their ET knowledge may be considered risky, dangerous, or a threat. When otherwise, within its native community, the knowledge itself is considered normally-good, nothing-fancy-helpful, normally-bad, even old hat maybe--just a broad mix of things.

If you are, or have been an ET, there's a chance this could be a cue to consider documenting what you know for lay persons in the communities you value. It's one thing to know something, it's another thing to know something deeply, and it's still another thing to package it up for distribution to those who are smart...

...but obviously not aware of _everything_ out there...(UFO synth sounds)