[kreyenborgi]

> I think if you are lurking you far more likely to just consume something without actively giving it a second thought.

Or you've learnt the hard way that voicing your opinion leads to getting invested in your viewpoint (and worthless internet points) and more time, energy and emotion spent on social media, whereas "passively" consuming you can just walk away from any silly argument that you weren't even trying to start, without it staying with you the rest of the night.

[prox]

Sometimes yes. It depends on how sincere or good faith a comment is, or the general atmosphere of a platform. While having lengthy discussions on HN is pretty much impossible, I still feel lots of people are showing willingness of entertaining “curious conversations”

I do think you highlight a certain skill thats advantageous to have , like knowing when something is indeed a silly argument or lost cause of an emotional drain.

[082349872349872]

> While having lengthy discussions on HN is pretty much impossible

It doesn't happen often, requiring effort from all sides, but I've found the 3rd day is about when a superannuated HN discussion starts getting interesting.

(but some email threads I'm in have lasted for years, so YMMV)

[portaouflop]

Ah so it’s about growing up then?