[bjourne]

I don't associate politics with pessimism. For me, following the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign from a distance was one of the highlights of 2020. Watching the live stream in the middle of the night of Public Enemy's concert from Los Angeles was amazing! Bernie didn't become US president but it felt like it was close. A socialist US president would have been cool. In my country, we don't have nowhere near the same energy and enthusiasm the Bernie Sanders campaign had, but political work is still very rewarding, imo.

I agree though that Hacker News has become very snarky. For example, if you were to write that you find Scala difficult, ten guys would reply by explaining how that makes you a crappy developer. Pointless sharing stuff when all you get back are nitpicks and potshots.

[krapp]

This forum is full of people who've decided that taking the piss and hating everything is a valid substitute for informed skepticism and intellectual rigor. People who think they're very clever quoting pithy one-liners from an author whose books they've never bothered to read.

edit: and yes I am aware of the irony in this comment.