> The HN community moderation always seemed to be based on a very superficial rules - don't swear, don't mention banned keywords X Y or Z. Never have they seemed to seriously consider the impact that words have on other people
Of course there's no rule against swearing.
This whole description is so remote from everything we try to do that I'm at a loss to know what else to say.
Certain very strong community norms have formed here, whether you realize it, or whether it was intentional or not. Sorry, I meant "rule" just as something that is somehow enforced, empirically. Probably "rule" is completely the wrong word, as empirical actions can often be the opposite of the written rules.
I'm talking relative, you're showing absolute. Oh, I see I edited that out of my previous comment.
Previously, I said to try an experiment using multiple accounts where you post comments with a swear word and slightly censored swearing, versus just posting uncensored swearing and nothing else different. You'll quickly see the relative difference in the community's reaction.
I fucking swear all the time here and don't give a shit how often I do it.
You'll only get voted down for it when the swearing makes it harder to read your comment, or conveys an emotional urgency unwarranted by the thread. For instance: "Fuck you" is unlikely to be well-received in any thread.
Of course there's no rule against swearing.
This whole description is so remote from everything we try to do that I'm at a loss to know what else to say.