The Silence Is Deafening
I suspect that a lot of the nice behavior on HN is because, for the most part, people value the community, and consider this a "professional" environment, and it's not a bad idea to play nice in places where employers/ees can see us show our butts.<p>LinkedIn was like that (in fact, sickeningly saccharine), but it's starting to fray.<p>Slashdot was good for a while, then CNN and YouTube kicked off their trolls, and they all went to /. It's now the place to go, if you want swastika ASCII art.<p>StackOverflow manages to be a painful place to participate, even though they are sincerely trying to be decent. I think it's way too "gamified," and competitive.<p>For myself, I'm an old troll. I admit that I was a right bastard, back in the UseNet days.<p>I am trying to atone.<p>One of the ways that I do that, is make all my info connected with every place I participate. If I am a jerk, you know where to find me. Alternatively, if I make a good impression, you know where to find me.<p>I also pay attention to downvotes. If a post I make gets a couple of rapid downvotes, I nuke it. Sometimes, I understand why; sometimes, not. It's just not worth it to me.<p>I am also making an effort not to engage too much. I may have a one-or-two-post back and forth, just to see if we can come to an accommodation, then it's "Have a great day!". Totally OK to let someone else have the last word. I have better uses for my time.