I'm not defending his disapproval of PG's response.
Just alluding to the larger point he -- somewhat tangentially -- hit on, which is quite true.
The herdism part.
HNers incapable of presenting their own take -- worthy of some import -- often resolve to aligning with the closest agreeable opinion and / or down-voting opinions that are farther afar from them.
The problem with this is that often enough their own opinion -- if they actually took the time to properly form it -- is really not proximate to either of the viewpoints. Not even by a long shot.
They just want to express for the sake of expression.
And the least demanding form of expression is a vote, whether in favor or out of favor. PG agrees with this sentiment in one of his earlier posts concerning fine tuning the HN experience.
Herdism is bad. It gives you the Reddit quagmire.
Weak-willed people align with either of two equidistant opinions because they sense that some measure of expression of their will is more valuable than none at all.
Weak-willed people also have the established-majority bias.
When given a choice of two clear 'candidates' whose strengths ( vote tallies ) are clear for everyone to see, they are easily lured into siding with the trouncing candidate irrespective of the degree of concurrence of their opinions.
If we are to have a vibrant community, this kind of behavior (as well as those agents) should be actively repelled.
This comment gave me a slight giggle, which is good as I'm just about to start my day.
It has largely gone off topic, which is also, largely my fault and it's a shame that the original topic has been overshadowed by this instead of actual useful responses for the original poster which wasn't in any way my intention.
Just alluding to the larger point he -- somewhat tangentially -- hit on, which is quite true.
The herdism part.
HNers incapable of presenting their own take -- worthy of some import -- often resolve to aligning with the closest agreeable opinion and / or down-voting opinions that are farther afar from them.
The problem with this is that often enough their own opinion -- if they actually took the time to properly form it -- is really not proximate to either of the viewpoints. Not even by a long shot.
They just want to express for the sake of expression.
And the least demanding form of expression is a vote, whether in favor or out of favor. PG agrees with this sentiment in one of his earlier posts concerning fine tuning the HN experience.
Herdism is bad. It gives you the Reddit quagmire.
Weak-willed people align with either of two equidistant opinions because they sense that some measure of expression of their will is more valuable than none at all.
Weak-willed people also have the established-majority bias. When given a choice of two clear 'candidates' whose strengths ( vote tallies ) are clear for everyone to see, they are easily lured into siding with the trouncing candidate irrespective of the degree of concurrence of their opinions.
If we are to have a vibrant community, this kind of behavior (as well as those agents) should be actively repelled.