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by smacktoward 2620 days ago
I would worry about my methodology if I saw dang, who basically only ever weighs in to politely tell people to be less salty, in the #2 spot on my "Total Salt Score" list.
2 comments

Again, that list is hugely weighted by frequency of comment. Someone who posts more than almost anyone else will end up vastly higher on the list, even if the majority of comments are not salty. People whose job it is to post on this forum, and particularly to step in where things get negative, is almost sure to manage to rank on the list.

And of course, if you click on him, you can see his "saltiest" responses to people. Some are arguably decently salty, though many are pretty polite too.

What's your definition of 'salty'? I think you can definitely be politely salty, and dang's comments are all saying (at least) 'don't do that' which seems to fit.
My understanding of the word lines up pretty well with the Merriam-Webster definition (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salty): feeling or showing resentment towards a person or situation; bitter.

By that standard, just telling someone not to do something wouldn't be salty. Salty is telling someone not to do something because only an idiot would do that.

This seems to me to be detecting how "snarky" a comment is, rather than how salty, as it seems to include snappy, sarcastic, and impertinent comments.