It's 2018, it's been lit decades since I read Dale Carnegie's *How to win friends and influence people* (after Paul Graham's 👍), so I'm very happy that #StackOverflow is giving Explicit Instructions on How To Be Nice On The Internet:
"Avoid accidental misinterpretation of your comment by being deliberately explicit about your intent"
"Flag … condescending / mean-spirited 'jabs'"
"deliberately show that you at least considered how someone would receive your comment"
👏
I have two thoughts on this: (1) I'm grateful for the people and experiences that have instilled in me the importance of civility and kindness (not withstanding a recent post I may have deleted), given that at least some lack this.
Building on that is (2) reading the responses to this post reveals that those who don't understand civility/kindness don't see themselves as having a problem, but rather see requests for kindness as a threat.
Glad to see StackOverflow picking sides in the Nice Wars.
Because this is the internet, of course I have to caveat the above: yes, "be nice" is superb advice IRL and on the net, but it doesn't apply when dealing with fascists, Nazis, abusers, etc.
Questions about JavaScript or FFTW inspire compassion. For oppression and hate, reach for Gandhi/MLK/Chenoweth-grade resistance and protest.