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by ColinWright 5170 days ago
You do know that pretty much every page has a search box:

http://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/all&q=green+usern...

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I know that here on HN it's generally regarded that if you start with "I know I'll get downvoted for this ..." then you simply shouldn't say it.

Having said that, there are times when unpopular things need to be said. I'm genuinely not trying to be snarky, I'm genuinely not trying to be rude, and I'm genuinely not trying to be superior. I genuinely think people really ought to do some homework before asking questions.

When we create a web site we often provide a FAQ, and we hope that people will do some homework and check the FAQ before calling the support line, or sending an email.

Why don't we ask the same of ourselves? Why shouldn't we ask that people at least wonder if the answer has been asked before.

So I'm not providing the fish, I'm trying to teach you how to fish. I'm not going to give the answer yet again, I'm telling people how to get the answers for themselves. It shouldn't be necessary, and yet it is.

So yes, downvote me, but understand that I'm actually trying to help the community. The question is, and it's a genuine one, how can we say RTFM without sounding snarky?

3 comments

I've been reading HN for about a year and a half, and I've never seen a green username before. It was a fair question.
I didn't downvote you, thanks for the reply :)
You're welcome, and just as a point of interest, I do know you didn't downvote me, because you can't downvote replies to your own submissions.
In fact, even the big global search box called Google will return the relevant answers if you search "green usernames".