> It's entirely possible that this is the smartest place on the internet, but also often dumb. In fact, it seems likely. More of an indictment of the rest of the places on the internet.

Almost every (non-troll) online community that is relatively peaceful and has some semblance of moderation to remove flamewars thinks of itself as "the best community". Usually as compared to reddit, though if it's on reddit they will compare themselves to some other (hated) sub.

It's a fact of the internet. Every online community thinks of itself as the smartest, more thoughtful, more civilized. HN is no exception.

It goes without saying HN is not the smartest or more thoughtful online community. It's just... ok. Not the worst, not the best. Certainly NOT the place with the smartest people, though some smart people frequent it. As a regular, you can soon figure out HN's unspoken rules, blindspots, and areas where the group opinion is more likely to be accurate.

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jrowen 11 hours ago | parent [-]

> It goes without saying HN is not the smartest or more thoughtful online community.

How does that go without saying? Name some others then, compare and contrast. As-is your argument is just posturing.

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the_af 11 hours ago | parent [-]

> Name some others then, compare and contrast.

No need, because whether an online community is more thoughtful or smarter than another is very subjective. Almost by definition, HN is not it. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and all that. Of course, by internet law, HN (or a subset of its members) considers itself to be the smartest, more thoughtful online community.

There are communities I like better, which are smarter and more thoughtful, but I've no desire to argue with you.

> As-is your argument is just posturing

Nah. Hard pass. Nice try though!

	▲	jrowen 5 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		I see you're downvoted, it wasn't me. I wasn't making any claim, you're making claims and disparaging remarks that you won't substantiate.