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Comment by dang | Hacker News Reader

"Please avoid introducing classic flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say about them" more than covers a comment like "Obama stealing [...] for himself and his crony friends".

Re the thread from 107 days ago, calling someone or their comments "anti-science", telling them they're not rational and are lying to themselves: all such things break the guidelines that ask you to be civil and not to call names.

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Have you ever stopped to think how calling people aggressors, and flamewar starters affects them? Do you think such insults are going to encourage them to keep trying to elevate the level of conversation here? Have you considered trying to understand them as a human, rather than treat them as an anonymous enemy? You might find treating people nicely can result in them being more open to your perspective, and maybe just maybe you'll open your mind yourself.

(Belated reply, but I only just saw this.)

Yes, I do think about that; I try not to call people aggressors and flamewar starters, but only to make statements about content. I don't always get that right, though.

If you want to continue discussing this, emailing hn@ycombinator.com would be best, since we don't see everything posted here.

Re this thread from a few days ago, calling someone or their comments "flamewar topics" and "not new": all such things break the guidelines that ask you to be civil and not to call names.

'"Lol guise guise hey guise guise guise but benghazi tho" on the other hand is the best comment on HN and shall be rewarded' - dang

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