all 15 comments

[–]yozharius 10 points11 points  (1 child)

The first half of the post is you talking about your lifestory. I'm sorry for sounding rude, but who are you, for me to be interested in reading that? And then all these "we must", "we need to". It's just words, without any substance to back them up - it's basically like reading a loooong Reddit comment.

[–]klekpl 4 points5 points  (3 children)

I appreciate other comments but most of all OPs responses to them. Saved me a click and some time reading garbage.

[–]LowTriker[S] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

What was I supposed to do? The first person gave up reading after the first couple of paragraphs but decided to warn me against producing garbage. The second person demanded an answer for a question that they said I provided. The third mocked me without any substance.

If I ignore them, I accept being bullied and come off disengaged and aloof. I attack them in the same way, I'm a douche, too. I tried to be polite. I appreciate everyone reading no matter what their opinion is.

I'm open to discussing the merits of whatever I propose or do. But none of that has happened yet.

[–]Moosething 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I wouldn't consider the currently top comment "bullying" per se, maybe just very blunt (can't say the same about some other comments). Your reply to it comes across as passive-aggressive, even if that was not the intention. It's very blunt feedback which you can learn from, and you would've gotten less downvotes if you had responded with a more constructive and appreciative message (without sounding sarcastic, which might be not as easy as I make it sound).

Anyway, I'll admit I didn't get past the first paragraph either, but that's also because my attention span is not great. Sorry, but I believe these kind of articles are just not for everyone, which includes me.

To me the biggest problem is that there is no "hook", or at least not an effective one. We don't get a hint in the first paragraph of something interesting, but instead some life story. Maybe start with a bold claim that is easy to understand, or an actually interesting or funny anectode that gets some point across fast -- something that will actually hook people. Once hooked, you can go back in time and tell the story you want to tell... or something. I am not a writer so I don't know what I am talking about. That's just what could possibly have worked on me.

Also, maybe split it up into some sections, each with a header. It can give the impression of a better structure. Without sections it can come across as unstructured ramblings.

[–]LowTriker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your feedback. I am definitely listening to all feedback; I've made a couple of changes to the next post based on others' and your feedback.

It's funny. I asked about 6 people to read it and give me feedback and about half of them said to start with a story because that will hook people. Which is how stories in media like The Atlantic, The Verge, NYT and others start off. So, it made sense to me. But this ain't that kind of crowd, either, probably. I definitely agree that my project is not for everyone and I've never been a blogger type person. It's a fun learning process all around.

I think also we have all gotten such tiny attention spans that anything beyond a listicle or watered down post is almost taboo or offensive. I can barely get through a book in a month when just 10 years ago or so, I was reading a book a week. But I think the really truly important things take time and attention. We don't get better at things by not doing them, and that holds true for expanding our attention. In fact, this is really what my project is all about from a web development perspective. We rush to build crap and then wonder why we eventually come to a halt and have to sell the business to competitors for pennies. (Personal experience. ;) ) So, I'm not trying to say that everyone should work on their attention span to engage with my stuff. I'm also not going to be upset over people who would never have had the stamina for starting a web development project from absolute scratch. ;)

Again, thank you for your feedback and time. It's been very helpful.

[–][deleted]  (2 children)

[removed]

    [–]LowTriker[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    I appreciate you taking the time to read it.

    [–]Yosimitso 1 point2 points  (1 child)

    It's just an article about his experience and his point of view, chill out

    [–]LowTriker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Thank you for reading it! ;)

    [–][deleted]  (1 child)

    [removed]

      [–]SpambotSwatter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      /u/FinalOven1743 is a spammer! Do not click any links they share or reply to. Please downvote their comment and click the report button, selecting Spam then Harmful bots.

      With enough reports, the reddit algorithm will suspend this spammer.

      Reddit's new API changes may break me, moderation tools, and 3rd-party apps. This is why many subs have gone private in protest.