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Comment by mikestew | Hacker News Reader

Why are hackers so all-or-nothing when it comes to customer feedback

Why do you think they’re a hacker? The mental picture I have is some seventeen year old who might have written some code that a compiler won’t puke on, and ergo they’ve got the world so figured out that not using a product is the “easy” answer in their mind.

Now, once they grow up (chronologically or mentally) and produce software people actually use, perhaps their outlook will mature.

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Because we’re on Hacker News making that kind of the default assumption, and it’s an attitude I’ve seen from hackers far and wide.

A fair assumption for sure, but HN will let just about anyone wander in without checking credentials. OTOH, personal experience says that lack of experience is often the root cause of thinking statements such as “just don’t use it” are at all helpful to the conversation. Often it is innocent, like the college hire I worked with at Microsoft who was complaining about a big customer still a version or two behind current Windows. “Why don’t they just upgrade?”

“Ever roll out an OS upgrade to 10K seats? Well, when you do, you’ll realize why they don’t ‘just upgrade’.” It was an innocent question, but revealed a lot of inexperience, and IMO, empathy.

But a lot of times it seem Mr. Grumpy Pants forgets exactly why they’re writing code in the first place, and laying the onus on the user is a demonstration of that.

I'm not sure which was worse, your or his comment.

Meh, to me that was the charitable interpretation, as time and experience can fix it. I’d rather not think that such a statement comes from a professional adult writing software for end users.

I think the problem is that such statements (and worse) do come from professional adults. So I find assuming such views come from people with just enough wherewithal to type out a comment to be a) pointlessly hostile and b) a distraction from the troubling reality.

Mark your calendars, kids, because someone on the internet just got their mind changed. Specifically the b) part, in that my thinking leaves a big blnd spot to reality. The a) part, meh, not so much, but it gives me words for consideration.

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