[punee]

This stuff is why HN commenters are the Adolf Hitlers of the internet. Etc. Etc.

P.S. Can we get a Hacker News ignore function? Is there a chrome extension that offers that?

[dang]

It's pretty core to HN that everyone sees the same stuff (modulo 'showdead' in profiles)—same front page, same comments. There's no question that this brings many local annoyances, but it also has some global advantages. So we're reluctant to change it.

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11073237 and marked it off-topic.

[rm_-rf_slash]

There's a brain function that lets you ignore things that you don't like, if you choose not to think about them.

[punee]

So not thinking about things you don't like makes them disappear?

That's odd, because I spend about 0% of my time thinking about dumb Hacker News comments, and yet I can see them right there, and before you know it, I've read them and wasted my precious time. How come?

[rm_-rf_slash]

>So not thinking about things you don't like makes them disappear?

Precisely. Never underestimate the power of the logic-proof compartment. Every propagandist since Edward Bernays has understood that you can repeat information enough times to make it real. Likewise it works in reverse.

>...and before you know it, I've read them and wasted my precious time. How come?

If you're still here, then how precious is your time, really? Or are you simply trying to justify not spending your every waking moment...what is it they say in Silicon Valley..."hustling"?

[punee]

I think you're missing the point.

I'm proposing HN introduce a feature that exists on virtually every message board on the internet (i.e. blocking users). That's because its usefulness is well-recognised.

I fail to see what being here has to do with how precious my time is. My time is precious to me as soon as I start to value some experiences over others and decide which ones I consider valuable, and which ones I consider a waste. I don't have to be spending my every waking moment "hustling" to have a concept of value.

Reading comments from authors that I find interesting is a valuable use of my time.

Reading comments from authors that I find stupid and annoying is a waste of my time.

That's why I wish I could prevent that from happening.

"Not thinking" about the existence of such users is in no way a solution to that problem.

[rm_-rf_slash]

Maybe you think I'm stupid and annoying today.

Maybe you forget my username and after some time you see a comment of mine that is insightful and meaningful.

Do you recognize the flaw in your logic?

[punee]

No, I don't see any flaw.

Am I supposed to carefully read every stupid comment from a poster that so far has only annoyed me on the off chance that he writes something insightful once in a blue moon?

I'll ignore him and take that risk. I'm sure it's still a +EV move overall.

[st3v3r]

Then don't read them. Problem solved.

[punee]

How do you decide not to read a comment before you've read it?