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Relative to this, I've seriously thought about whipping up a funny little website that displays a sort of meter showing positive/negative reception for every HN post based on the top comments using sentiment analysis.

I was curious because it seems like whenever I check the comments on a post the top comment is like "ackchyually..."

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> whenever I check the comments on a post the top comment is like "ackchyually..."

I attribute this to the quality of the source material. there's a limit to how much the linked article can reasonably convey while still being an introduction to whatever is being talked about. Very rarely, if ever, is a website article posted that requires prerequisite reading of a different article. So nuance usually gets shafted a bit, and in-depth research postponed, to keep the article easy to read.

it then gets posted here and inevitably someone has something to say about the nuance

It really is! I used to get dragged in on them but made a new account with the premise of not falling for those flamewars and to try create more than I consume. I’ll still write a response to an “ackchyually…” post but catch myself and delete it before I send. Life isn’t long enough for those ‘discussions’ :)

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