sniping and negativity is the norm and I just ignore it. You should too.
HN != "The Internet"
I somewhat agree with the OP... HN has (had) almost something of a "family" or at least "tightly knit community" vibe to it. Traditionally feedback here was expected to be honest and not sugared down, but polite in tone and constructive.
No one is saying that feedback here should consist of nothing but "Wow, that's GREAT. You're definitely going to be the next Zuckerberg." And no one expects all of us to get together around the campfire, hold hands, and sing Kumbaya. But there's no reason people can't be encouraging and supportive while also being totally honest.
Example:
"Congrats on the launch! Here's hoping your project succeeds wildly. I took a look, and while I like the Froozit and Gizamble features, I do kinda think the Frizgombit could use some improvement. I also have some concerns about how you will make money from this? Is the market for a Zvezkikit for octogenarians really big enough to support this? Anyway, best of luck!"
I mean, is it that hard to show a little support, throw some encouragement to the app launcher, while also giving useful feedback? This isn't "The Shark Tank" or an interview with pg (unless pg is the one giving the feedback, in which case it kinda is) where you go in mostly expecting to be challenged and not really encouraged.
All of that said, I don't think HN has totally descended into "nothing but negativity." I still see a lot of great comments and feedback here, although I would agree that the tone may have shifted a bit over the years.
HN != "The Internet"
I somewhat agree with the OP... HN has (had) almost something of a "family" or at least "tightly knit community" vibe to it. Traditionally feedback here was expected to be honest and not sugared down, but polite in tone and constructive.
No one is saying that feedback here should consist of nothing but "Wow, that's GREAT. You're definitely going to be the next Zuckerberg." And no one expects all of us to get together around the campfire, hold hands, and sing Kumbaya. But there's no reason people can't be encouraging and supportive while also being totally honest.
Example:
"Congrats on the launch! Here's hoping your project succeeds wildly. I took a look, and while I like the Froozit and Gizamble features, I do kinda think the Frizgombit could use some improvement. I also have some concerns about how you will make money from this? Is the market for a Zvezkikit for octogenarians really big enough to support this? Anyway, best of luck!"
I mean, is it that hard to show a little support, throw some encouragement to the app launcher, while also giving useful feedback? This isn't "The Shark Tank" or an interview with pg (unless pg is the one giving the feedback, in which case it kinda is) where you go in mostly expecting to be challenged and not really encouraged.
All of that said, I don't think HN has totally descended into "nothing but negativity." I still see a lot of great comments and feedback here, although I would agree that the tone may have shifted a bit over the years.