True, but it would discriminate less well. It would hide many OK comments that happened to be downvoted once or twice.
Note that for this solution to be an argument against the banning solution, it would need to actually be implemented. Are you predicting that will happen?
I’m saying it ought to be done, if the problem is as described. Or, in other words, that I prefer such a solution over the alternative being proposed (moderator intervention to remove comments).
There are some corpses in the street. Some people are proposing to bury them, because they’ll rot and cause diseases. Others are proposing to leave them there, because haha, corpses. In this situation, you may prefer cryopreservation to burial and at the same time prefer burial to non-burial, because cryo probably won’t happen. (Maybe this is an insane alien hypothetical world where cryo is just really unpopular.) If you’re facing a “bury yes or no” button, it may well be rational to push yes. This is true even though the probability of cryopreservation depends on your preferences. Now substitute bad commenters for corpses, banning for burial, and sidebar change for cryo. I’m not saying the parameter values are the same, but do you agree with the qualitative point?
I agree with the qualitative point but think it irrelevant. Not only are we not facing a “yes or no” button, but all that you claim in the above is that it “may well be rational to push yes” (emphasis added) in the event that we are faced with such a button. This says very little.
Again, I reiterate the point made in the grandparent. A hypothetical about a yes-or-no button is no answer to someone specifically advocating a third alternative. If you don’t think the third alternative is possible, argue against it directly; don’t pretend it was never proposed.
If that’s the problem, shouldn’t the solution be to implement comment-hiding on the sidebar?
Comments in the sidebar tend to be too new to have been voted below −3 or whatever the threshold is.
One could make the sidebar-threshold lower than the ordinary threshold....
True, but it would discriminate less well. It would hide many OK comments that happened to be downvoted once or twice.
Note that for this solution to be an argument against the banning solution, it would need to actually be implemented. Are you predicting that will happen?
I’m saying it ought to be done, if the problem is as described. Or, in other words, that I prefer such a solution over the alternative being proposed (moderator intervention to remove comments).
So you’re not saying that you prefer no banning to banning (given whatever you predict will actually happen to the sidebar)?
I thought I was saying that.
Preferring sidebar change to banning does not imply preferring no banning to banning given actual probability of sidebar change. Do you agree?
Actual probability of sidebar change is, I would hope, dependent on such preferences.
There are some corpses in the street. Some people are proposing to bury them, because they’ll rot and cause diseases. Others are proposing to leave them there, because haha, corpses. In this situation, you may prefer cryopreservation to burial and at the same time prefer burial to non-burial, because cryo probably won’t happen. (Maybe this is an insane alien hypothetical world where cryo is just really unpopular.) If you’re facing a “bury yes or no” button, it may well be rational to push yes. This is true even though the probability of cryopreservation depends on your preferences. Now substitute bad commenters for corpses, banning for burial, and sidebar change for cryo. I’m not saying the parameter values are the same, but do you agree with the qualitative point?
I agree with the qualitative point but think it irrelevant. Not only are we not facing a “yes or no” button, but all that you claim in the above is that it “may well be rational to push yes” (emphasis added) in the event that we are faced with such a button. This says very little.
Again, I reiterate the point made in the grandparent. A hypothetical about a yes-or-no button is no answer to someone specifically advocating a third alternative. If you don’t think the third alternative is possible, argue against it directly; don’t pretend it was never proposed.
I guess I’m hereby tapping out of the discussion.
Fair enough.
It is nonetheless some number smaller than 1.