Comment on How the “Down-Vote” Leads to a Vicious Circle of Negative FeedbackparentComments−caf11yAnd I don't keep an enemies list.One thing that probably helps here is that HN doesn't use avatars and visually de-emphasises the username - if I don't specifically look for it I usually have no idea who I'm replying to.−hollerith11yI definitely notice that forums that have avatars have much higher rates of ego-driven commenting than forums that do not.Parenthetically, I'd go even farther than HN has gone and make the reader navigate to another page to see the username.
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And I don't keep an enemies list.
One thing that probably helps here is that HN doesn't use avatars and visually de-emphasises the username - if I don't specifically look for it I usually have no idea who I'm replying to.
I definitely notice that forums that have avatars have much higher rates of ego-driven commenting than forums that do not.
Parenthetically, I'd go even farther than HN has gone and make the reader navigate to another page to see the username.