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Comment by sctb | Hacker News Reader

> Fuck Zuck.

Please don't include this in comments on Hacker News.

I will phrase it differently in the future, but I stand by the sentiment.

That phrasing is certainly more incendiary than other possibilities, but just a watered-down version of that sentiment is problematic too: it doesn't teach us about anything other than how you feel, which is not part of our shared reality that is the basis of conversation. That's why we ask that comments not only be civil, but substantive, so that they're contributing to the discussion.

"That phrasing is certainly more incendiary than other possibilities"

I look at it as a direct non-verbatim usage of Zuckerberg's own words against himself. After all, Zuckerberg already has this sentiment for everyone using Facebook - "Fucking morons" IIRC.

Now, what do you consider a contribution to the conversation? I've seen plenty of comments that do not do that and yet they still remain either highly-voted or at least not in the grey.

Zuckerberg wasn't commenting on HN. Like everyone else, you can figure out what's constructive on a particular forum - a moderator is just pointing out something that isn't.

I think that particular comment is inappropriate for HN because it is uncivil and unnecessarily offensive/rude to a specific person.

To object to the comment because it "doesn't teach us anything other than how you feel" is to say that any statement which conveys only "how you feel" is inappropriate for HN.

Is that really the way it works here?

What if he had said "I wish Zuck all the best!" -- would the moderators have come out against that too?

No, certainly not. Just that such things can often safely be omitted, but should definitely be omitted when they would disrupt the conversation by being insulting, inflammatory, off-topic, etc.

why not?

Be civil. Don't say things you wouldn't say in a face-to-face conversation. Avoid gratuitous negativity.

When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

I would say it to his face, but point taken. :)

Fair enough, but just because you'd say it to someone's face doesn't make it civil

But here's the problem with censorship (which you have said the previous writer should impose upon himself):

I consider what Facebook is doing to be far more uncivil than use of the word Fuck. Should the word Facebook be censored because what it refers to offends me?

yes, use this instead:

Zuck: They "trust me", Dumb fucks.

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