Hacker News Comments I'm tired of Seeing (2013)

The edit is where most of the insight is on that page, and the reader comments on it are the most entertaining part. Quite a lot of the authors list seem to be things that are useful to discussions, albeit by virtue of helping newer users be up to speed with idioms that long term users take for granted.

Recently the phrase “there is no free lunch” has been grating on me for some reason. It adds nothing to the conversation and, to me at least, always appears to be used as either a “this common phrase is proof that I’m right” or “you are dumb for having thought you found something.” It just never adds anything helpful.

A: “I think I found a way to do X better or more efficiently!” B: “nope. There is no free lunch.” A: “oh ok. Thank you for showing me the error of my ways.”

This one, I can't say I agree with:

> "If you're not paying for it, you're the product" - That was insightful the first time, but doesn't need to be posted about every free website.

If anything, it should be a mandatory reminder that many of the "free" websites aren't a free and loving offering to the community, but rather personal data traps.

Definitely not a thing that one should just brush over and just become accustomed to.

There are times when a comment really resonates with me, and I want to show the commenter more appreciation than just an upvote, but don't want to be a "this +1"-er. What's proper etiquette there?

Ho hum ... every 4 years this turns up.

> The plural of anecdote is not data

anecdata is a portmanteau, not a plural

Is this post considered harmful?

So many rulez.