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Comment by rosywoozlechan | Hacker News Reader

> We don't have scientific evidence, but that sounds more effective than this year's flu shot.

This is misleading health information. Please get a flu shot. It saves lives.

"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."

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

There's little to assume in terms of good faith in this case. An obvious joke gets turned into a busybody scold. How does one interpret that into a stronger thing?

I'm not sure if you misread my comment or I'm misreading yours.

The comment that broke the site guidelines was https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30443157, by assuming that the point of the OP was to convey "misleading health information" and then reacting to that.

A year ago I would have probably told you to calm down and that the statement was clearly a joke, but the way many people have responded to the pandemic has really opened my eyes, and I now agree with you. Unfortunately public health is a place where gray areas and humor can be dangerous because they contribute (often unintentionally) to a lack of taking things seriously.

2yrs ago I would've said people scolding others for using obvious humor was just a meaningless activity of busybodies, but the way many people have responded to the pandemic has really opened my eyes. It turns out these were people who actually wanted to control speech and dictate what can be accepted as truth despite their inability to identify what the truth is. They are a great evil and have destroyed people's trust in truth finding activities.

Thank you for bearing this emotional labor, your bank account has been unfrozen for an additional 30 days. See you again next month.

Oh for god's sake it's a mild joke. They even preamble it with a warning that they have no scientific evidence. The pandemic seems to have made humorless busybodies such as yourself even more blatant than was the case before. People can joke about serious subjects you know? Also, flu shots should be someone's personal business, not something to be lectured about. The people who feel vulnerable should vaccinate themselves perhaps, others, as they choose.

No, it's a joke.

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