Try to show me the world through your eyes, because I can't see it that way without your help.

God, that's exactly the answer I needed.

I just came back from my research trip to Hong Kong. When my group was walking around the older parts of Yuen Long, far away from any tourist, we were suddenly approached by a local. He recognized our Dutch and asked if we were from the Netherlands. Turns out that the man, named Kit, lived half his live in Rotterdam and the other in Hong Kong. He even talked Dutch, invited us into his home and gave us a tour of the area. But most importantly, he showed what daily life there looked like. Like having a shrine in his living room to his ancestors, which is very common. How he just managed to live there, with the expensive housing and all. That he saved up to make sure his cousins could have a better life.

Most of all, it gave me the perspective to understand how millions of people live there. The things we have in common, that they all have their lives and aren't just numbers on a population chart. Now I have more grounding on a subject I understand more with every day.

I used to be criticized regularly on Reddit for making it "all about me." It hurt, mostly because it wasn't true, but partially because the only way I can make you see "my" story is by showing it through my eyes.

I think the main difference between hubski and reddit in this aspect is the axiom of honesty. I think that comments here are genuine opinions, not just the common denominator to gain moar karma. Because there's almost no point in whoring for votes here, comments are only written for their own merit. So it's normal that it's about you. I read comments to know what people I know think of it, or what thought are voiced by people I don't yet know. Reading comments there on the other hand is just to find a rebuttal of the main story, or a nice addition to it. It often doesn't matter by whom. When you make that important, they get upset.

What are your thoughts?