Over the years I've found writing on HackerNews, Reddit and other online sites has given me an outlet to get creative and engage with folks in a way that will shift discourse towards something I'm more interested in.
I regularly lie and pretend I know about topics and areas I have zero experience in. I began noticing I received more upvotes and engagement when I pandered to views or opinions that are either the direct opposite of what the original content suggests (through cherry-picked exceptions), or I'll find a tangentially related view that's either current and popular, or supports a topic or viewpoint I'd like to know more about – often pandered with some popular topic.
Often this results in a thread about stuff that I actually want to read about, or someone actually knowledgeable on the subject will correct me – and call me out, but will receive far less approval (and often be flamed for criticizing me). On the plus side, I get to learn from someone really knowledgeable about how something works!
Here's one of the worst examples (which I regret) because it perpetuates a view about a place I've never been, I've never stepped foot in the continent of Africa – it's one of the few times I wish I could go back and “correct the record”: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9309170
I know nothing about IP law – >200+ upvotes: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27035901
I know nothing about, and have never been through Australia's ACCC courts – almost 200 upvotes: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26787289
I've never hosted any copyrighted media, ever: https://news.ycombinator.com/context?id=16955522
I know nothing about tax havens, I've never even submitted my own taxes: https://news.ycombinator.com/context?id=16809428
Does anyone else do this?
