Yeah, I agree, and I’ve been thinking through things like this. I want to be very careful in making the site not feel like it’s out to get you, and so isn’t trying to sell you anything, and so have been hesitant for things in the space that come with prominent UI implications, but I also think there are positive externalities. I expect we will do at least some things in this space.
Minor point, but I’d be happy if LessWrong/Lightcone had various (popular) subscriptions for perks, like Patreon.
Some potential perks:
A username with a certain color
A flag on your profile
Some experimental feature access
“We promise to consider your feature requests a bit more”
Some monthly (or less frequent) cheap event at Lighthaven
Get your name in the LessWrong books
“Supporters” part of Lighthaven. Maybe different supporters could sponsor various Lighthaven nooks—there are a bunch of these.
Secret Discord channel
Invites to some otherwise private Lighthaven things
I realize these can be a pain to set up though.
(I’d want this if it helped with total profit, to Lightcone)
Yeah, I agree, and I’ve been thinking through things like this. I want to be very careful in making the site not feel like it’s out to get you, and so isn’t trying to sell you anything, and so have been hesitant for things in the space that come with prominent UI implications, but I also think there are positive externalities. I expect we will do at least some things in this space.