[jrflowers]

I like this article about how all the other social networks are worse than Twitter that only mentions other social networks in one sentence.

It is refreshing to see someone make a statement and then proceed to ramble about completely unrelated things with no intent of even revisiting the original thesis let alone defending or explaining it. I haven’t read anything this meandering and empty since I stopped using Twitter

[tolerance]

This is a strange way to express your disagreement with the post.

The article clearly follows a course that outlines the process behind the author's beliefs. He says that he intends to share his argument against the alternatives later...So consider this the first part of what may became a greater work.

I disagree with him, although I don't discount all of his observations. But it's clear that he's put some effort into the article which is ostensibly meant to be continued.

[jrflowers]

> the article which is ostensibly meant to be continued.

I like the idea that the existence of one article necessarily implies the existence of a second article. Unless you think that is the case it appears as though the author finished

> Here's a twelve-act essay…

his “twelve-act essay” in this post.

[wslh]

> It is refreshing to see someone make a statement and then proceed to ramble about completely unrelated things with no intent of even revisiting the original thesis let alone defending or explaining it. I haven’t read anything this meandering and empty since I stopped using Twitter

It's refreshing to see a discussion on how different cultural approaches influence writing styles. I think this might partly stem from cultural differences. For example, in Latin-based cultures like Spain or France, it’s more common for authors to leave certain ideas implicit, expecting readers to infer connections or fill in gaps. This can sometimes come across as "rambling" or lacking focus, especially to readers from more fact-oriented cultures, like the American-centric style found here on HN.

In contrast, the American style tends to prioritize clarity, directness, and explicit connections between ideas. Without knowing the author’s background, it’s possible that what some perceive as a lack of explanation or defense in the original piece might simply reflect a different cultural approach to argumentation and storytelling. One that is less rigid but more open to interpretation, even if it invites criticism.

[jrflowers]

It is a tad strange to see something poorly-reasoned and jump to “maybe that’s just something that everybody in an entire country does”.

People from countries other than America can start with a thesis and then mention that thesis in the body of an essay.

[wslh]

It is from someone who knows many other cultures and have worked with companies on over 30 different countries. You are overestimating your cross-cultural skills, and the perspective from people different than you.

A real thesis requires much more skills and time that the ones you mention.

[jrflowers]

You have worked helping people edit essays in over 30 different countries? And only Americans address their theses in their writing? If you saw an essay titled “Why dogs are better than cats” you would only expect an American to mention cats? That sounds insane, downright reductive and infantilizing.

I apologize but I am getting a little bit of secondhand embarrassment from seeing someone look at objectively bad writing and saying “This is actually an example of the famously uniform culture of France and Spain” ???

As an aside, where did you develop the “cross-cultural skill” of haughty dismissiveness out-of-hand in response to gentle disagreement?

[viraptor]

It's pretty ironic after all this talk about how other media presents biased misinformation and lies - go straight to writing essentially "no other network provides experts or good discussion, trust me". (just in case - this is not true)