[colinplamondon]

(Fwiw, I think most of the feedback in this thread is thoughtful and encouraging - speaking more generally below.)

I think the gap is the difference between giving feedback to a person and broadcasting superiority. The former is what we do in-person. It takes constant active effort to not do the latter.

Giving feedback in-person, you want to make sure your feedback land. Encouraging where possible by pointing out what works, discussing the ways it can or needs to improve.

When people don't give feedback to the OP as a person, and rather treat it like a faceless corporate entity, or go full-Slashdot, that does get a bit mean-spirited.

[trinsic2]

So far I am not seeing any comments that are not constructive, but I concur. There can be an disproportionate amount of people on Hackernews that think that its ok to give feedback without considering how it lands.

In my view, the fact that you are speaking on the internet does not mean you have license to be harmful or careless with the people you interact with.

I also like that the parent complains about the very thing (being able to speak freely) but doesn't want to apply that to people that disagree with his standpoint.