[KevinEldon]

Oh shit, I have learned a lot from Rich's talks... so your talks must be much more useful. Where can I find them? Please tell me you have some talks? You have such great ideas, or communicate such "extremely simple" ideas so well that others (or even you yourself) have recorded them for me to watch. No talks? So you keep this knowledge to yourself and shit all over a guy who shares his knowledge with a community?

Your comment is terrible. You shit on Rich, you shit on Clojure, and say nothing other than you're so superior that you get nothing from anything Rich says. Fuck you (yes, that's not subtle, but your comment is passive-aggressive bullshit or perhaps you lack the ability to clearly state WHY you do not think a talk is useful).

[Sandman]

I really wish this is the last time I see a comment like this on HN. This is nothing but an angry, sarcastic rant by somebody who, I can only presume, had a really bad day. There is absolutely nothing civil in this comment.

While I completely disagree with the grandparent comment, I understand that that's his/her opinion, nothing more. What Hickey talks about may seem obvious, but only in hindsight, at least to me. It seems that most of the commenters in this thread feel the same way. However, I can accept that there are people, like Zerr, who would find Hickey's talks to be rather boring stuff, since they are already well aware of everything he talks about. So there's really no need to reply to these people with hateful comments like this one.

[KevinEldon]

I had a pretty good day and I'm not an angry person. I was very uncivil in response to what I understood to be a dismissive comment wrapped in civility. Comments tearing down someone else's real work without offering alternatives or constructive criticism are easy to make and damaging, but my tone and choice of language didn't communicate my message. I'm sorry that it bothered you. I generally do not post w/ this tone and will be more careful in choosing the right tone to communicate my meaning in the future. Thanks for your feedback.

[KevinEldon]

I'm going to reply to myself to clarify my harsh words. It is very easy to say something sucks. Windows sucks. Linux sucks. Lisp sucks. Apple Sucks. Google Sucks. It doesn't mean anything to say it. It is not useful to say something sucks, you cannot fix "sucks". Saying what is wrong with something is useful. Saying Rich's talks are "simple" is something, except most people don't seem to agree, so it would be much more useful to cite the things you know beyond the "simple" things Rich has talked about... "Rich is ok, he says simple things, but read X, or watch Y" is useful. I may disagree with you but at least I have something to investigate. In a better mood this probably would have been my first post, but HN seems to be about shitting on stuff these days so I guess I just went with that.

[kriro]

Your comments suck.

[KevinEldon]

Have a blessed day.

[klibertp]

Hey, stop it. Grandparent presented his opinion about the talks. It's perfectly possible that for him they are not new or interesting. He's not shitting on anything, he's just presenting his feelings about some things. While it's somewhat off-topic, it doesn't deserve a response like yours.

Personally I like Rich talks very much, they were eye opening for me, although I agree that they focus on simple things. That's why they are so interesting. On the other hand I'm not a fan of Clojure - I'm trying to be, but my love for certain other Lisps gets in the way.

Are you going to tell me to fuck off because I said, in effect, that in my opinion there are better Lisps than Clojure?

[KevinEldon]

After re-reading my initial comment a few times I agree that my language wasn't helpful in communicating my real frustration with the GP's comment. My intent was to call out a dismissive, superior and mostly unhelpful comment, but my intent was lost in my presentation. Your approach to me would have been a more effective choice. Thanks for replying.

[Elrac]

I didn't have much of a problem with the GP's mildly dismissive comment about Hickey's talks, nor was I hugely concerned that you opened a can of worms about it. What I would, however, like to remark on how your comment forced me to think of you as a complete dumbass who has no business mingling with people who, like most of us, get paid for our ability to think logically.

In your "clever" attempt at irony, you ask your parent about his own, presumably better talks. Please take a moment to reflect on how utterly stupid this line of attack is!

Give up? OK, here's the explanation, by analogy: I'm completely incapable of building an automobile. Yet, having driven both, I'm qualified to comment that a Geo Prizm is an underpowered, shoddily constructed car - at least when compared to my Lexus. A talk is a product created for the benefit of an audience, and as the consumers of such a service, the audience - including the GP - is probably best qualified to judge it. To imply that only a producer of talks may have an opinion on a talk is shockingly stupid.

Before you attempt another such put-down, please consider how it will reflect on you, and whether it might not be more sensible to keep your mouth shut!

[KevinEldon]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply and helpful criticism of my initial comment.

[KevinEldon]

@zerr: Sorry for my language and insults in response to your comment. I don't agree w/ your comment, and I chose a contradictory tone to express my disagreement, but that tone and my choice of words was not helpful to any discussion. Regardless of my intent I apologize for how I responded to you. I owe you a beer.

[zerr]

It's OK Kevin. We all make mistakes, but when one acknowledges and honestly apologizes, it deserves appreciation. So thank you and take care.

Oh, and, the world is not that big, so I'll keep in mind that beer ;)