So, um, he's a homeless guy who lives in a cave. Congratulations, homeless guy, you have somehow managed to convince everybody that instead of a homeless guy, you're a cultural revolutionary. NB: you live in a fucking cave. Forgive me if this doesn't sound like the future of mankind.
"NB: you live in a fucking cave. Forgive me if this doesn't sound like the future of mankind"
Forgive me if I say this sounds like a Reddit comment :) Why so negative? He doesn't harm or tries to convert. There is a difference between him and most homeless in that he actually chose this lifestyle, is able to quit it if he wants, and seems to be generally pretty happy with it.
It did occur to me as I typed it that it would get downmodded for the belligerent phrasing, but I was post-gym and blood sugar was low, which makes me grumpy.
I think the reason it irritates me is, as others have mentioned, that he doesn't really live without money. He just lives without his own money, and relies on the kindness of strangers to provide him with things he needs. He's not self-sufficient and he's not bartering for everything he needs. He's just an eloquent beggar.
From the article it seems he largely lives on stuff that he finds in nature or dumpsters. Occasionally he may be invited to a meal. Obviously he wouldn't have canned spam without a modern economy, but he would probably have a lot more wildlife to hunt & fish so it balances out.
The media is full of stories of the hyper-consuming celebs and millionaires, so it's nice to see a story on someone from the other extreme once in a while.
"Forgive me if I say this sounds like a Reddit comment"
Forgive me if i say this makes you sound like an asshole - why do people on HN feel the need to belittle reddit in much the same way reddit users belittle digg users?
I wonder where on the net an even more "intelligent" site's users are using "hacker news comment" as a derogatory term?
There are lots of places where people refer to the kinds of comments that show up on web message boards as, well, far from the epitome of rational, polite, interesting discussion. Maybe discussions on email mailing lists are the most common place where this happens.
I think a lot of us here are users both of Reddit and Hacker News, and that experience is why we don't want Hacker News to turn into Reddit. It's not that we're belittling Reddit's users, but that we don't like the kinds of discussions that occur on Reddit.
The comment at the top of this thread is a perfect example: instead of contributing to the discussion, its author thought it would be more worthwhile to express his disagreement with the subject of the article by using the word "fucking", without ever actually explaining why he disagreed. He succeeded in writing a funny comment (it got ten upvotes!) but not in writing anything worth reading.
Another example that with this government (and most) it's their way or the highway. I'm with you -- there's nothing ideal about it. But it's certainly noble.
Comments
So, um, he's a homeless guy who lives in a cave. Congratulations, homeless guy, you have somehow managed to convince everybody that instead of a homeless guy, you're a cultural revolutionary. NB: you live in a fucking cave. Forgive me if this doesn't sound like the future of mankind.
"NB: you live in a fucking cave. Forgive me if this doesn't sound like the future of mankind"
Forgive me if I say this sounds like a Reddit comment :) Why so negative? He doesn't harm or tries to convert. There is a difference between him and most homeless in that he actually chose this lifestyle, is able to quit it if he wants, and seems to be generally pretty happy with it.
It did occur to me as I typed it that it would get downmodded for the belligerent phrasing, but I was post-gym and blood sugar was low, which makes me grumpy.
I think the reason it irritates me is, as others have mentioned, that he doesn't really live without money. He just lives without his own money, and relies on the kindness of strangers to provide him with things he needs. He's not self-sufficient and he's not bartering for everything he needs. He's just an eloquent beggar.
From the article it seems he largely lives on stuff that he finds in nature or dumpsters. Occasionally he may be invited to a meal. Obviously he wouldn't have canned spam without a modern economy, but he would probably have a lot more wildlife to hunt & fish so it balances out.
The media is full of stories of the hyper-consuming celebs and millionaires, so it's nice to see a story on someone from the other extreme once in a while.
"Forgive me if I say this sounds like a Reddit comment"
Forgive me if i say this makes you sound like an asshole - why do people on HN feel the need to belittle reddit in much the same way reddit users belittle digg users?
I wonder where on the net an even more "intelligent" site's users are using "hacker news comment" as a derogatory term?
There are lots of places where people refer to the kinds of comments that show up on web message boards as, well, far from the epitome of rational, polite, interesting discussion. Maybe discussions on email mailing lists are the most common place where this happens.
I think a lot of us here are users both of Reddit and Hacker News, and that experience is why we don't want Hacker News to turn into Reddit. It's not that we're belittling Reddit's users, but that we don't like the kinds of discussions that occur on Reddit.
The comment at the top of this thread is a perfect example: instead of contributing to the discussion, its author thought it would be more worthwhile to express his disagreement with the subject of the article by using the word "fucking", without ever actually explaining why he disagreed. He succeeded in writing a funny comment (it got ten upvotes!) but not in writing anything worth reading.
I agree with the criticism, but one can say a comment was poorly phrased without bringing reddit or any other site into it.
Frankly, the prevalent "gee, we are so much smarter than everyone else" attitude here is getting old.
There was a this American Life a while back about two guys who chose to be homeless in NYC for a while. IIRC the gist was: it sucks. I was shocked.
Yeah not sure what the media's fascination with voluntary homelessness is.
Another example that with this government (and most) it's their way or the highway. I'm with you -- there's nothing ideal about it. But it's certainly noble.