I've spent the last long week in Hong Kong. While I was there I managed to read _refugee_'s post on reposts and the better angels of our nature before my phone completely died. It, and kleinbl00's post in particular has been running around my head since. Especially this part:
- Lately? "Here are my completely groundless and unexamined thoughts on a subject I barely understand, reward me."
It fueled a worry every content creator must have at some time. What if I don't know what the hell I'm talking about? People voting because 'here, have an upvote'. How could I achieve that which is praised here so often, that state of thoughtfullness? So I responded to bl00's post. But as he noted, it's now buried in a week old post and it's a topic that deserves more discussion. As late to the party as the sunrise.
How can you be thoughtful? It's a question that should be central to hubski's functioning, as much of the decisions and discussions are about promoting thoughtful, interesting posts. Yet what that is seems undefined, no more than a feeling comprised of keywords like interesting and inspiring. Kleinbl00 noted that it's about gaining perspective, which is a great approach but I doubt that it's the only way or opinion on this matter. What are your thoughts, hubski?
1. Do your research. Make sure you substantiate your central thesis with evidence (or well developed theory). 2. If you don't have time to do the research, don't sacrifice quality for quantity. 3. If you're wrong, admit it. Your ideas are not you. You should keep your ideas in a box outside of you. If you're ideas are wrong, change them, that is how you grow. Thank the person who called you on your bullshit or pointed out a logical flaw/citation error/etc. EDIT: Also, if someone ever attacks you, don't take it personally because it says more about them than it does about you. Whenever you disagree with someone, you disagree with their ideas. One of the things I like the most about hubski is that this is how discussion and arguments typically develop. People disagree, but no one gets personally attacked. Hopefully we can keep that environment because it is the environment within which great content creators can develop.It fueled a worry every content creator must have at some time. What if I don't know what the hell I'm talking about?
Were you thinking of this comic by any chance?
http://kiriakakis.net/comics/mused/a-day-at-the-parkYour ideas are not you. You should keep your ideas in a box outside of you.
I hadn't read that before, but it's beautiful. Thanks for sharing :-)
I read both your response and kb's. Funny thing was, when I saw your original comment, my first thought was to suggest you make it its own thread. I was afraid a one-line response would seem flip, though, and I wasn't able to respond in detail at the time. It is interesting to see tng's response to this question because I never interpreted the "thoughtful web" to refer to the structure of Hubski. I always thought it was about the content and perhaps a reminder to keep responses and discussion thoughtful. Indeed, even if that's not what it's meant to refer to, I think that most of the founders' ideas about this site focus on discussion and at that, quality discussion. Or at least that such discussion is one of the primary goals of this site, not simply to aggregate links in terms of the mutual community's interests.This interpretation of the motto has caused me to monitor my commenting behavior, striving to leave comments that contribute to the site, not one-liners or puns or etc. If I absolutely feel the need to make some sort of one-line joke in response to what someone else has written I try to also leave something responding to their actual point. Yes, sometimes I leave one-line replies and honestly sometimes that's all that's warranted - but most of the time I try to give more and I try to give a lot of thought to responses. For me it's about quality and quantity. Sometimes taking a day or two to respond to a comment until I have the time. (People who DM me know that sometimes I fall off the DMs for a week or two. I just need some time to respond to stuff sometimes.) At least, that's in terms of the comments. For links - I read stories before I decide to share them. I share them if I find them really thought-provoking or fascinating. If it's an 8-page article that I can't tear my eyes away from for at least two pages, oh heck yes I'm sharing. This comes down to personal preference though. But I guess it's how I avoid giving an "upvote" for the sake of patting someone on the back. There are some discussions I follow but I don't share. There are some threads I'm very active in but don't share. It's because although I find the topic interesting I wouldn't normally have clicked on it, or something. That's harder to explain. For posting in #askhubski one of my mostly-held-to-guidelines is I try to ask questions I don't know the answer to. This honestly kind of limits me on "story" threads but I don't know as that's a totally bad thing. At some point those can get really out of hand. (Note, of course, I have posted story threads before. I said "mostly-held-to.") As a result I mostly post questions I've been chewing over in my head that I can't figure out. "Is lying bad?" - still not convinced. But a great discussion. Meta-hubski questions are pretty big for me too I guess. I've posted a few. Usually because I've been chewing them over in my head I've got a lot of thoughts on the topic which I think sets a good groundpoint for a thoughtful discussion. It's interesting to see everyone's different perspective on something and I really enjoy seeing how everyone thinks differently. It's a good reminder of how different we all are inside of our heads. What makes a thing thoughtful? I think the amount of time you've put into considering it, the length of what you have to say about it, and the quality of that quantity. If you have a lot to say and it's not drivel - better yet if it's driven by passion - it's probably thoughtful. This is a high standard of course and you can't be 100% thoughtful 100% of the time. A discussion peters out at some point. But, heh, there's my ruminations.
I thought this was the default! Ha. I tend to overthink hubski sometimes, regardless. I don't actually have anything to say about this post, so I won't pretend to -- but something kleinbl00 said in the other thread I agreed with: why not shoutout to people? A shoutout is the same as a reply, notification-wise ... and we all get a bunch of notifications a day ... so who cares if some of them come in the form of shoutouts and some as replies? Don't understand.For links - I read stories before I decide to share them.
My first and only notification of the day!!! YAY!!
Merry goodness to you too flags. I look at the adorable picture of you on your bicycle often. (Um just kidding, but I know where it is if I wanted to look at it!!) Edit: yes, I did say merry goodness - it's not a typo. I was just telling tng that in the city around me there are at least 200,000 people still without power as a result of the ice storm and a cold weather warning for tonight. I see Austin is a pleasant 67 or so.
Wow I just went and found that, such long hair. It's mostly gone now. Wish it was warm enough to wear sandals though -- 67 might be overstating a bit and anyway I only go out at night it seems like. I don't know what merry goodness means but I like it.
Going bald? - no. If I were, it would likely be due to chemotherapy... (don't worry, no cancer) (so far) Going corporate? - I continue to resist. Xmas? no - but I do get a little sentimental this time of year and think of everyone I know and want to wish them well... Do I know anyone in Austin? no - As for the thread: How are you thoughtful? It doesn't strike me as a how question - we can't help being thought full - but we can choose how we project our thoughts and which thoughts we choose to send out. It's morning here now. Snow is lightly falling. It's 10 degrees F. Consciousness beckons. I love that pic of you with your bicycle. I'd like to see a corporate one next to it with your hair gelled. A kind of before-after thing.
Wrong! Hand raised. I'll just have to figure out an excuse to post something with me in it to hubski. Maybe an actual pictures of my vacation.Do I know anyone in Austin? no -
Interesting, I'm more of a short-but-sweet writer. High information density. Not that I don't enjoy your long post, to the contrary, it's just a different approach I have. If I want to produce quality, I take a long time refining my sentences and word structure. For example, I cared a lot about a proper response to kleinbl00 since I know he's good at spotting my bullshit. That post took me more than an hour to refine, to comprise the incoherent thoughts I have into a logical story. Thus I find it quite difficult to respond as lengthy as you do. So I'll just respond to the parts of your post that stood out to me, as above. I don't think we should try to eliminate the one-line response. There should be room for some less serious responses. Only when it becomes a common sight and not an exception is it something bad. Isn't that what everyone does? My flow is always article -> comments ( -> respond) -> share. Just headline reading shouldn't warrant a share, I think. I really like that approach. After all, thoughtful discussion is about thoughts. Thanks for sharing them!I think the amount of time you've put into considering it, the length of what you have to say about it, and the quality of that quantity.
Yes, sometimes I leave one-line replies and honestly sometimes that's all that's warranted - but most of the time I try to give more and I try to give a lot of thought to responses.
For links - I read stories before I decide to share them.
As a result I mostly post questions I've been chewing over in my head that I can't figure out. [..] It's interesting to see everyone's different perspective on something and I really enjoy seeing how everyone thinks differently.
But, heh, there's my ruminations.
Pascal. Lettres provinciales, 16, Dec.14,1656. My Hubski posts do tend to be shorter than my Reddit posts ever were. I've also found that, over time, I'm striving more and more for brevity. But then, they waived my english requirements in college because my scores were embarrassingly high, and I'm only getting to this point 20 years, 9 screenplays and a novel later.*"Je N'ai fait celle-ci plus longue que parceque je n'ai pas eu le loisir de la faire plus courte.*--I have only made this letter rather long because I have not had time to make it shorter."
What do I think of as "thoughtful." I think kb is right that perspective is key. I often read the comments to a post prior to reading the linked article because it's an interesting way to consume information. I get the perspective of people that have opinions I respect that add nuance to the original content. I think thoughtful replies and discussions are fostered because of context. It's difficult for me to be a complete jerk to someone like you (not that I'd want to be) because we've interacted a number of times here, there is context to our "relationship" that fosters a more thoughtful discussion. I think that is what is missing on other aggregators. -context.How can you be thoughtful? It's a question that should be central to hubski's functioning,
-The question "how can you be thoughtful" is a subjective one. What may be a thoughtful post or reply to one person, may not be for another. I always thought that the "thoughtful" part of Hubski was the architecture; giving people the tools to craft their own version of the site. Allowing each individual the ability to curate their experience using the following, ignore, mute functions and now with the coming commenting sorting helps people to foster a "thoughtful web."
So you're seeing thoughtful as a quality of the site's facilitating functions? That the site is thoughtful because it's considerate of each user? I've never really separated thoughtful from content but it seems like a good way to approach the site's mechanics. It might even be the opposite: it's easier to be a jerk to me if it's necessary. The same way a friend can get angry at you for your own sake. By all means, do shout at me if it's needed! What I like about hubski is that it creates communication not just in the single moment of a post, but it connects those comments on posts through time. I might easier respond to you on a post next week because I recognize your name, connecting that post with this one. A connection through time and posts. starts Doctor Who themeIt's difficult for me to be a complete jerk to someone like you (not that I'd want to be) because we've interacted a number of times here, there is context to our "relationship" that fosters a more thoughtful discussion. I think that is what is missing on other aggregators. -context.
Your title is how I am thoughtful, I'd say. Self-reflection is the king of personal development, I think. It's why I keep a journal. Hell, it's why I write in general. I like to believe that through these thoughts, I'm improving. My goal, my constant mantra, is "be a little better today than you were yesterday." That can mean one more rep, one more sentence, an "I love you" to someone I care about. I think that without self-reflection, it's difficult to be thoughtful. About your actions, your words, and their consequences. And I think the two have a back and forth relationship. The more thoughtful you are, the more self-reflective you become, which causes you to be even more thoughtful, and so on and so forth.
Then I read my last entry in my actual personal journal. Then I abandoned the idea. Although what might be fun would be to copy an entry from an actual personal journal -- anybody's and invite people to change it and tweak it. Might create a different perspective on the usual whining that goes on in journals. (whining, and rough drafts of other things, sometimes reflection, stuff and all. A recent journal entry was a list of things that I wanted a journal to be... I might explore this in a "new post" in due course.It's why I keep a journal.
I had this mad idea -- for a moment. The idea was to invite a handful of people to post journal entries using the + editors function - so they'd be pseudoanonymous ... with the + edit function we could keep adding on to each other's journal entry -- copying the page from our actual personal journal.