[juletide]

Counter-anecdote: I got the email, was excited to see that Starfighter was launching soon... but was annoyed that I couldn't quickly skim the rest of the email to get the "tl;dr" version (the basics of what the challenge will involve, or if there's anything else I need to know about the launch, etc). I've been cutting down on my RSS reader lately because there are a lot of things I want to read and there's not time to read them all; I wish the emails were more respectful of my time. Just including a clearly-marked summary, followed by the long version, would make me far happier.

[MengYuanLong]

I concur it is about respect for time most of all. Though the technical portions are interesting, they could have been broken out into separate articles for people who want those additional details.

I may not be the target audience (novice coder) but I also feel the writing style would greatly benefit from greater focus.

A sentence that stands out in that regard is "Although my co-founders Thomas and Erin have done substantial work with securing real stock exchanges over their career, I have no particular background in finance." This sentence could be refined to "My co-founders Thomas and Erin have substantial experience securing real stock exchanges". This kind of editing would help the author avoid 8k word essays without a significant loss of content value.

[danenania]

You've reduced the word count with that edit, but you've also lost some texture. The voice and texture of Patrick's writing contribute greatly to its being so absorbing... there's no point in trying to turn a Melville into a Hemingway.

My advice to Patrick would not be to change his style, which is clearly very effective, but to also throw some shorter update emails into the mix so people can keep tabs with less of a time investment if they so choose.

[biot]

Your comment was too long and was not respectful of my time. Couldn't you have found a way to convey your sense of entitlement to the content that other people freely provide you in a more succinct way?

[juletide]

I’m not quite sure how sharing an anecdote about how I, personally, found it difficult to find information in a particular email conveys a “sense of entitlement”—perhaps my phrasing didn’t come across well? The “respectful of my time” thing is just a phrase I’ve generally heard as shorthand for “make the information easier to access,” and I was merely expressing a wish, not a demand.

[biot]

Maybe you didn't mean it this way, but "not respectful of my time" is semantically equivalent to "you are disrespecting my time". Disrespect (verb): to show a lack of respect for; insult. It makes it sound like something that the author has done to you. Your other points were fine about your personal experience. But saying the author is not respectful of you is the step too far.

To improve the wording, I'd suggest something that doesn't imply intent on behalf of the author and solely reflects your own personal views. For example: "I wish the emails were shorter as I don't have time for long-form content". It gets your point across that you have limited time and would prefer concise emails, but doesn't infer anything regarding respect (or the lack thereof) towards you.

[juletide]

Okay. The phrase is in pretty wide use with more casual implications (googling “be respectful of your reader’s time” brings up a lot of marketing email advice pages, for instance), but obviously it's not in as wide of use as I’d thought, so I apologize for overstepping!

I do wish your original comment had been a little less snarky; I’d like to contribute more to HN but it’s not so easy when replies seem to assume entitlement/bad faith/etc.

[biot]

Agreed... sorry for being snarky; I should have explained what I meant originally instead.

I think the difference is that people give authors advice prior to writing an article which amounts to "be mindful that your readers will have to read this". And given that authors have a broad range of readers, it's perfectly fine for an author to consider this and still go ahead with something that's long form and detailed because there's a good chunk of their readership who actively appreciates it (and possibly expects it given patio11's typical article length).

Essentially, claiming the author shows you a lack of respect is disrespectful of the author for the work they put into it. Who has the greater onus to offer respect: someone who actively works to put out free in-depth articles that nobody is under any obligation to read, or those who passively consume those articles? Those who wish to read short announcements can simply say "Great post with lots of details, but is there a channel I can subscribe to which gives me short announcements?" That demonstrates respect.

[amalcon]

juletide's comment was excellent constructive feedback. It had the right tone[1], explained context[2], and included a specific actionable suggestion[3]. This is the exact sort of feedback good authors want; it was in no way an expression of entitlement.

While patio11 may not follow this particular suggestion for potentially valid reasons that he may or may not have, it was good feedback either way.

[1]-It mostly referred to his or her experience negatively, not the text itself. This seems superficial, but it does matter anyway.

[2]-The RSS point validates the experience, and makes it easier for the author to understand.

[3]-The tl;dr bit was a specific suggestion to improve his or her experience.