What are the positive terminals in a 4-pin compact fluorescent?

Question

two pairs of pins, can't figure out which one to hook up to the positive

Answer 1

The bulb itself should not have positive and negative.  The circuit will have a positive and negative.  You are firing a cathode. The ballast  is not necessarily high voltage.  A ballast(rather than a transformer) has a capacitance built into the circuit, which eliminates the need for a starter as in old fluorescent technology.

Answer 2

The  4 pin CFL is designed to fit a certain fixture that operates on AC. It has no positive pin. The unit must be installed in the correct fixture or it will not operate. The fixture has a high voltage ballast built in to the fixture.  The Edison base CFL that are designed to install in most lamps, have a ballast manufactured in them.