[benreesman]

That's not what I said, you know that's not what I said. I said people who talk like that on HN are doing so from an unrelated personal experience.

This sub-thread is about the habits of speech that make a certain breed of armchair public policy economist jump out like a lump on plate glass. Get Patek in here and we could start a convention.

[steveklabnik]

> you know that's not what I said.

Okay, just so you know, I did not understand that you were speaking in generalities whatsoever.

[benreesman]

Fair enough, this is a topic with a high and asymmetrical charge quotient and misunderstandings are a fact of life in such.

I also regret any degree to which I've singled you out for a generally regrettable trend among the long-time community members: it's very easy to see the world through the lens of one's own experience and I've been as guilty as anyone of doing just that on plenty of occasions.

We should all strive for empathy and understanding, that goes double for people like you and me (and Thomas) who have been around forever.