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nrabulinski | 6 months ago

I would generally file questioning and criticism under “neutral”, in some very specific cases “positive” or “negative”. Are you interpreting “negative” as “anything not strictly positive”?

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Dylan16807|6 months ago

Questions can be neutral but questioning is probably negative, and criticism is solidly negative in my book.

So no I am not doing that.

In what world does "criticism" not default to "negative"?

haswell|6 months ago

> Questions can be neutral but questioning is probably negative

The ethos of HN is to err on the side of assuming good faith and the strongest possible interpretation of other's positions, and to bring curiosity first and foremost. Curiosity often leads to questions.

Can you clarify what you mean by distinguishing between "questions" and "questioning"? How or why is one neutral while the other is probably negative?

I'll also point out that I'm questioning you here, not out of negativity, but because it's a critical aspect of communication.

> In what world does "criticism" not default to "negative"?

Criticism is what we each make of it. If you frame it as a negative thing, you'll probably find negativity. If you frame it as an opportunity to learn/expand on a critical dialogue, good things can come from it.

While I understand what you're getting at and get that some people are overly critical in a "default to negative" way, I've come to deeply appreciate constructive, thoughtful criticism from people I respect, and in those context, I don't think summing it up as "negative" really captures what's happening.

If you're building a product, getting friendly and familiar with (healthy) criticism is critical, and when applied correctly will make the product much better.