Comment by nl | Hacker News Reader

Comment by nl | Hacker News Reader

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It's pretty clear this is a troll account (ie, one that exists to post controversial statements in order to cause grief). Here are some examples:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1782355

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1935416

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1994504

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2041013

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2027532

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2018434

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2018405

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1881991

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1935387

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1919731

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1914963

I think the best response here is to down-vote and not engage beyond the sensible rebuttal that has been posted.

those posts are my honest replies. I don't invoke name calling and try to backup everything with sources. I do get downvoted a lot here, I do not have multiple accounts or use my account "as a troll account." My postings are sincere and I honestly have a dissenting viewpoint in general both online and offline. My friends often remark that I like debates. If you disagree with me, let me know. My philosophy in debating is that I either abandon my argument by learning new facts about what I was wrong about, or my argument stands. I live in the Portland Oregon area and if you would like to meet me for a beer I can attest to this. Thanks

Debate is pointless if you ignore contrary evidence.

For example, it's pretty clear that you are anti-vaccine. It's fine to hold that opinion, but as I'm sure you've seen the overwhelming evidence against your point of view I don't see any need in re-hashing the arguments.

In cases like this you may not be consciously trolling, but in my view arguing a dissenting view in the face of such overwhelming evidence exhibits the same damaging behavior patterns that a troll engages in. Given that, I think the appropriate response is exactly the same as the response to a troll, ie: a perfunctory link to counter evidence on Wikipedia (for the sake of casual readers), and a downvote.

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