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Is there any way to keep positive tone without having to lie that I find something interesting when I very much do not?

You could just say nothing and move on.

But what if I want to ask what people who aren't me find interesting about this? Am I not allowed to do that?

Politeness is not lying. And the biggest issue was the second unnecccesary sentence in their reply.

When politeness requires me to make statements that are factually incorrect, especially statements about my own personal feelings - then yes, politeness is lying! This is exactly what people mean when they talk about toxic positivity.

Would you consider the original comment to be in positive tone, and replied to it as such rather than if it consisted only of the first sentence - "What do people find interesting about this?" - and entirely omitted the second? If not, what would it take to make it truly positive, without resorting to making factually incorrect statements?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com