Surprisingly, tone on Hacker News matters as much as content. I write very (too) concisely. It comes off as cold and is read as snarky or boasting quite often. Then I just get critical replies about tone, which drives the conversation off the point.
Because tone is a another channel of information, and one we've been trained to acknowledge as part of the message, even if subconsciously, all our lives.
For a very simple example, tone may convey confidence. If that confidence is in a statement that people find reasons to doubt or disagree with, depending on their own confidence they may feel more or less compelled to disagree.
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Surprisingly, tone on Hacker News matters as much as content. I write very (too) concisely. It comes off as cold and is read as snarky or boasting quite often. Then I just get critical replies about tone, which drives the conversation off the point.
Because tone is a another channel of information, and one we've been trained to acknowledge as part of the message, even if subconsciously, all our lives.
For a very simple example, tone may convey confidence. If that confidence is in a statement that people find reasons to doubt or disagree with, depending on their own confidence they may feel more or less compelled to disagree.
Yes. And then they project their disagreement into some negative emotion on my part; I'm being arrogant, or dismissive, or cold.