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by moron4hire 2395 days ago
That's exactly how you have to read things to take posts in good faith, which is one of the few rules 'round these parts.

Similarly, I'm trying to eliminate the "I think" prefix from writing. It shouldn't be necessary to write "I think Google is evil". Of course the writer thinks that. They wouldn't have written it if they didn't. They can very safely just write "Google is evil".
2 comments
gjm11 2395 days ago
If I write "I think Google is evil", I mean: "I think Google is evil, but I acknowledge that it's possible for other fairly reasonable people to have a different opinion."

If I write "Google is evil", I mean: "I think Google is evil, and I consider this an established fact that reasonable people shouldn't be disputing."

These are different propositions, and I might want to say either of them.

A policy of not using qualifiers like "I think" because of-course-it's-my-opinion makes it harder to make that distinction. I don't think the advantage of punchier prose is worth that loss.

(Note the "I don't think" at the end; other people might reasonably see the tradeoffs differently. Note the absence of "I think" elsewhere; I don't see much doubt that there is such a tradeoff being made.)

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moron4hire 2395 days ago
A reasonable lesson should already think it's possible for other reasonable people to hold different opinions, and not feel threatened by them. It's only in this bullshit really of the internet that we decided to start interpreting the things other people say as "potential facts in need of disputing" rather than just "the utterances of peers". The former mode implies a level of deference that we don't take on in public, face-to-face conversations.
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kgersen75 2395 days ago
I was more concerned about his usage of 'the tech people' terms.

Like you, I think when someone saying 'Google is evil' he implies 'I think Google is evil'.

But someone saying 'back then Google was still admired by the tech people" or "Losing our support" is more ambiguous. Like if all 'tech people' or a majority of them think like him which or he represents the majority.

tl;dr: I'm fine with him saying 'Google is evil' but not with him saying 'the tech people think Google is evil'.

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moron4hire 2395 days ago
Yes, the implicit "I think" still applies. "I think the tech people think Google is evil".

I don't know how to say this lightly, but taking personal affront to statements of opinion is not a sign of the insult of the opinion of the speaker, but a sign of the insecurity the listener has in their own opinions.

In other words, relax.

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