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Comment by gpsx | Hacker News Reader

I had a different reaction to this article than the other commenters so far. I think it did a very respectful job of describing the incredible effort these guys put in. I had no idea it wasn't just some guys in a lab turning on a switch.

I also come from a different perspective on this article because I actually grew up in Morgantown, WV, where my dad was a professor. Looking at WVU as the middle of nowhere, along with some of the other mentioned comments, is pretty reasonable. And the article seemed to have no bias about the quality of work done be these students and their lab in general. If the right people read these articles it would probably give these guys' career a big boost.

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I live in WV and work for a startup in Morgantown, and I disagree with you, and agree with the other comments.

In the U.S., West Virginia is associated mainly with forests, the heroin epidemic in its cities and its backwoods population, who refer to themselves as hillbillies. West Virginia is definitely not associated with environmental protection. "Rolling coal" is a popular hobby in these parts - it involves removing the particulate filters from a diesel pickup truck, driving to the nearest city, waiting until a Prius or a cyclist goes by, gunning the engine and roaring off, leaving a cloud of foul-smelling exhaust in its wake. That's what passes for humor in West Virginia.

Plenty offensive.

As an outsider, those are exactly the things I associate with WV (I'm from Texas). Additionally, there are plenty of similar things I associate with Texas. While I dislike those qualities, that doesn't make them less true or offensive. I suppose, those observations made about where I live could be seen as the first definition of offensive, "causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry". However, that doesn't automatically qualify them as fitting the second definition of offensive, "actively aggressive; attacking".

Associating, agreeing, and promoting things that are simply not true, are offensive. I am sure there are worse terms to describe your stereotypes.

I have yet to meet anyone refer to themselves as a "hillbilly" in WV.

Most people outside of WV I have met associate it with coal, or white-water rafting, not forests.

"Rolling coal" - I have never heard of that term, nor have I seen this behavior. Nor would I agree that this "passes for humor".

Heroin is a problem, yes. However, that is not limited to WV.

Just to add to the information on this thread, and I feel this will be relevant here:

Rolling Coal is accomplished by running the fuel to air ratio very rich, nearly all diesel motors cannot accomplish this without modifications to the engine and the emission control system. Generally this is a side effect of some modifications meant for increasing power by increasing fuel flow but taking it past the point all of the fuel can be burned; either on purpose to roll coal or on accident because of mistuning. The idea behind rolling coal, in my experience, is showing off your diesel motor which is many times more expensive and powerful than standard gasoline motor, and showing off it has been modified for even more power.

The article is most likely vaguely referring to this "Prius Repellent" YouTube video when it talks about rolling coal: https://youtu.be/hsC0kLNSLAQ

Although at the same time you have more popular Youtubes talking about how rolling coal is just a little too obnoxious: https://youtu.be/HjCPW2nj7do

The primary purpose behind rolling coal is not to attack Priuses, although it is absolutely terrible for the environment, and to nearly everyone very obnoxious.

Are your "rolling coal" experiences based in WV?

I wonder what prompts the differences in my experiences versus yours. I live in a rural area near WV, and not only have I heard the term "rolling coal" from multiple sources, I've seen it done a number of times (not necessarily in cities). In fact, I tend to close my car's vents as a matter of course when I see a truck that looks outfitted for it, as it can be a bit noxious no matter what, and even when they aren't trying for the black cloud the exhaust is worse than usual.

A few links referencing rolling coal and its origins: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jmb4d8/nothing-wrong-with... http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/201... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_coal

I've met self-identified rednecks many times, but only one self-identified hillbilly (lives in VA). I think the former term has more memetic potency at the moment; hillbilly seems more outmoded (probably why they used it), and even seems to conjure a more hippie aesthetic, somehow.

I'd agree on coal or white-water rafting as stereotypes over forests. WV does have some nice parks and forests, though.

So, I had read through the wikipedia references listed in the footnotes (prior to your comment), and came across the Vice article, which if you read (not you, specifically), says it is a minority of diesel vehicle owners (all over the US).

Reviewing the other linked articles from Wikipedia (the majority of which were from 2007), I could not find one referencing WV, but multiple other states.

Not to get into a Virginia versus West Virginia debate (Virginia != West Virginia), are the "rolling coal" experiences of yours because you are driving a Prius or bicycle?

I agree about the "redneck" term, but that is associated with any area, and often embraced, "hillbilly" is considered derogatory to many folks I know.

> I am sure there are worse terms to describe your stereotypes.

Again, not my stereotypes, I don't own them, didn't start them, and don't perpetuate them; I've never spoken about West Virginia outside of this thread.

I'm glad that I was misinformed, in fact, I have to give credit where credit is due: here's an impressive fact on West Virginia from U.S. News -

West Virginia is the 10th most affordable state in the U.S. and ranks third for equal opportunity, scoring especially high in education equality, by race.

> West Virginia is the 10th most affordable state in the U.S. and ranks third for equal opportunity, scoring especially high in education equality, by race.

Unfortunately, that might just reflect the poor quality overall – or the general homogeneity of the population – than some type of progressive success.

Maybe that's still considered a "good thing"; c.f. the infamous Thatcher video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okHGCz6xxiw

"You'd rather the poor be poorer provided the rich were less rich!"

It's not just a WV thing, I've seen pickup trucks do it in liberal university cities in the midwest.

West Virginia is so beautiful, it is tragic that it’s ecompany is depressed. WVU owes a lot to the late Senator Robert Byrd.

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