It's too bad you ended your comment by telling me to get a life. It's a bit of an insult to suggest that people who disagree with you aren't living, isn't it?
I will respond to your main argument in another comment.
I will respond to your main argument in another comment.
In my opinion this response is an example of what aneth is referring to in thier comment.
I have a number of minor free libraries on the go, two children, and I'm heading out to do some very technical mountain biking in the morning. I have what I consider to be a life, although I accept that others may consider all of that worthless if I don't agree with their perspective on what is and isn't appropriate in a professional setting.
Therefore, telling me personally to get a life--which the author may or may not have done--isn't even an insult, it's simply wrong.
First - It's a jab, because I do think those who constantly make a point of being offended need to get a life. We all do it sometimes, but we need to recognize it as a flaw instead of making excuses and complaining.
Second - I'm not sure how it was directed at you personally.
Third - It most likely struck you because you fear there is some truth to it - if you knew it was untrue, it would not even begin to bother you - you probably wouldn't even notice. I find most of the time, when someone is offended, myself included, the cause more within the offended person, than the offender.
Keep going and keep ignoring #overly-sensitive.
I know you are getting down voted for these comments (these threads are a magnet for the overly sensitive), so I've decided to go through your comment history and up vote others where appropriate.
Being offended on behalf of another group is the new chivalry.
edit: w00t, at zero, keep the downvotes coming. can i get a neg 4?
Speaking of which, aren't entrepreneurs supposed to be the people who can take a beating and bounce back up instead of complaining? Isn't every good idea shouted down from day one? Doesn't every great leader meet resistance and naysayers.
Getting beat up on a bit gives you the skills to deal with the real world. Being coddled by sensitivity yields weak spirits. Adversity breeds strength. That's what sport is all about. It's what freedom is about. #braveheart
If you need an example, try calling me a nigger. I won't be offended, however I will tell you that you're being offensive, even if nobody who hears it takes offense.
Elsewhere you have tried to defend your point, and that is the correct line to take. If your point is valid, it is irrelevant whether your critics are easily offended. They are wrong. And if your point is invalid, again your critics don't enter into it.
Second, I don't care if an insult or jab is directed at me personally. Ad hominems poison the HN community. They create an environment where ideas take a back seat to things that may well be the staff of life outside the office, but are irrelevant to the business at hand. They create an environment where people who disagree with you expect to be insulted for their trouble. They may fear the insults, or they may simply prefer not to lower themselves into a mud-slinging match. Either way, the community loses their voice if they turn away from comments that contain insults or "jabs."
Therefore, I choose not to shrug and say "How rude, but since he wasn't talking to me personally, no biggie."
Your third point is not worth a direct response, except to suggest that having reached the rock bottom of rhetoric, your comments have begun to dig. If your points have substance, make them and defend them. Discussing the psychology or motivation of your critics is the age-old misdirection of playing the man and not the ball.
See how I respond to your words without making suggestions about what kind of person you are or why you write what you write? You defend your ideas without belittling your detractors elsewhere in this discussion and it is far more credible.
That is not "ad hominum." It is not directed at anyone here. It is as true for me as it is for the author of this post and yourself, and it is a philosophy I practice myself and from which I have learned a great deal.
I am not discussing the psychology of my critics any more than myself. This entire conversation is about psychology, so it's a difficult subject to avoid. If you feel the conversation is about you personally, it is not my intention.
I came into this knowing full well my opinions are not politically correct. For better or worse, I simply don't agree that we should all tiptoe around each other's sensitivities.