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Comment by theelous3 | Hacker News Reader

On some level this response seems sane, but the more I think about it the more insane it is.

Are we seriously questioning why someone wants to share their opinions on a topic? Are we actually clueless as to what they get out of it?

Is telling them they should instead spend a great deal of time following a completely unrelated pursuit our solution?

"Hey, I'm having a hard time expressing myself while feeling safe from (as I see it) arbitrary harassment, and managing vectors for imagined retributions"

"Go decompile donkey kong"

...right

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"A rule of etiquette -- in business, at the dinner table, at the barbershop and elsewhere -- is 'never talk about religion or politics.' These subjects are highly contentious and usually result in heated argument instead of general agreement. 'Never discuss religion or politics with those who hold opinions opposite to yours' has been cited in print since at least 1840. 'Do not discuss politics or religion in general company' is from 1879."

https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/nev...

I think we will somehow survive as a society without hearing this dude's thoughts on incest. And yes, I think people would be better served spending their time on hobbies than arguing politics on the Internet.

The person is not walking in to business meetings arguing the ethics of incest. Clearly they understand this given their declaration of a throwaway.

I think it's also probably safe to say they're not delivering these opinions as non-sequiturs. If there is some news article posted for discussion about incest, and I showed up to say "I don't like incest", I doubt I'd find anyone telling me about references to

> 1840, The Corsair, “The Letter Bag of the Great Western,” pg. 775, col. 1

But look what seems to happen at the inverse?

Make of the opinion what you will, but bashing the engagement is a bit rich.

OP is just giving the outsiders perspective to the hivemind. It's worth hearing now and then imo.

> OP is just giving the outsiders perspective to the hivemind. It's worth hearing now and then imo.

Sometimes it can even be fun. I've gotten a surprising number of upvotes with no supporting comments in the past on here, presumably from others too afraid to speak up.

You're on Hacker News saying people shouldn't talk about politics? Either you're badly lost, or you don't recognize politics even when they hit you over the head.

Hobbies are overrated. Arguing politics on the Internet is another hobby.

> Are we seriously questioning why someone wants to share their opinions on a topic? Are we actually clueless as to what they get out of it?

Yes, feel free to explain why that’s insane. It seems absolutely normal to keep things to yourself

There is no way this is a good faith question. As someone delivering their opinion on the internet - surely you can explain why someone would like to deliver their opinion on the internet.

I personally don’t get anything out of sharing my opinion on the internet, I do it out of reflex and I actually have been taking measures to stop doing it. So no, not asking in bad faith.

I wasted a decade+ on my life arguing online all day. I see what coldpie says. It is legitimately a pointless waste of time.

Obviously I am still on HN so I still do it, but I definitely feel it's futile and it's a guilty pleasure. But even here, I've lurked or posted for many years too and I can't recall anyone changing their opinion on anything.

I dont think mental jousting is completely devoid of value depending on the topic. The benefits are just difficult to measure.

Even if you haven't changed opinions, you may have helped take down strawmen or aid others in steelmaning.

The possibility to have a healthy debate on any topic is the root of progress!

Fair enough, though I would argue it’s impossible to have a healthy meaningful debate on “the internet” (by which I mean reddit or any social media)

Sadly true

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