Ask HN: Did you ever find it difficult to find your “voice” on the internet?

[whiskey14]

I've always been a lurker on reddit and HN. But recently I've felt that I need to contribute more but I still find it hard to write comments without cringing at my own writing. The same goes for tweets and any other social media submission.

Did anybody else feel like this? Did you have any strategies/tips/mindset-shift to become better at contributing?

(regular posting is what I'm trying atm}

[mikewarot]

How much deleting do you do? About 50% of my postings here at HN are deleted (by me) once I think about what I want to say, and decide it doesn't really add value. By then, I've gotten the snark or "yeah, but what about X" energy out of my body, it's better for me, and for everyone else when I just back out of it.

How much editing do you do? I write up all of my thoughts. Then move the words around in the compose box until it looks good. Then, after I hit "add comment" I find at least one spelling error each and every time.

You've got up to 2 hours here to edit comments if someone points out issues, I try to make good use of that time.

[brudgers]

I started with sarcasm, snark, trolling, etc.

It came naturally.

The thing about those, is that they are writing for an audience.

They are public performance.

And that's what writing in public fora is.

If there's joy in that public performance, then it can become a sticky habit. If you don't find joy in it, it won't stick.

After a few years, I started developing this punchy style as an alternative to my Kantian inspired circumlocutions I developed writing philosophy papers as an undergrad, perhaps it seems because reading Kant gave me caution regarding the fallibility of my own cognition in particular and all human cognition in general. Which is to say that, the "probably's", "perhaps's", "etc's", etc. are a reflection of my own aperception...of my own reflections on my inner experience.

Anyway, for me, it's fun to write shit like that and shit like this.

If it wasn't I wouldn't continue to do it.

Be yourself. Nobody but you is watching. Nobody but you is judging. And your writing is probably better than you think. Good luck.

[type0]

Good habit at least when writing blog posts is to write for the future self and sometimes your colleagues. It can be useful to know how you approached different subjects years ago. The key to this is not to be afraid to change your mind in the future. Most people that experience problems with this is because they are stubbornly trying to stick to the same ideas they had years ago and feel they will be seen as weak when admitting that they were wrong.

[thesuperbigfrog]

>> recently I've felt that I need to contribute more but I still find it hard to write comments without cringing at my own writing.

Why do you feel the need to contribute?

If you want to say something, by all means say it.

If you are not interested in a given topic, ignore it.

Just be yourself and focus on what matters to you.

[Irongirl1]

Well, I got flagged, told to get a "thicker skin" etc so I just gave up. For me, HN has come to mean "only contribute if you already agree with the position we already hold." Dissent, or a different way of looking at things, will not be tolerated so I stopped contributing and went back to enjoying HN for its article curation.

[LEDThereBeLight]

I don’t know if that’s fair. I’ve learned a lot from dissenting arguments despite what any of the posted replies might say - I just don’t respond saying so, so you’d never know. I think there’s value in dissenting if you believe the more popular opinion is wrong, even if doing so invites criticism. It’s not that hackernews doesn’t “tolerate” it, they do, it’s just that you’re necessarily going to get people bitching at you when you say something polarizing.

[Irongirl1]

That's the thing-I don't believe it was polarizing and I am tired of being a woman online who gets attacked. HN is just the latest space where it happened. It hardly matters...I don't miss contributing. And quite frankly, I don't get paid to teach rocks. If I worked in an industry with a 90% failure rate, I'd be wondering what I could do differently. But techies don't seem to notice or care...or the bankers don't, but either way, I don't want to grow a thicker skin.

Here in the USA, that's a huge chunk of our problem. I doubt citizens in most 1st world countries that count, like the Scandies, would stand around taking video while cops murder a man in cold blood on the street right in front of their faces. I'd say our skin is plenty thick enough...and that's we get so much wrong.

[type0]

If you don't have anything to say, you shouldn't force yourself to contribute

> The same goes for tweets and any other social media submission.

Twitter is cringe for everyone writing there and anyone reading it

[akulbe]

Yes, since things are so video-centric. I used to do some training videos for customers.

Now it's nigh impossible, as I can no longer speak with my normal voice. My vocal cords are paralyzed after being on a ventilator while I had COVID.

I would like to "speak" more, but I have to figure out how to do it in writing. I feel like I was much better with it vocally, but for now, that's not an option.

[swah]

Yes, I post/tweet into the void...