First:Shoo away newcomers with lots of downvotes and advice to read the sequences.
That’s not a good solution. Most people will not go read the sequences just because someone told them. I think it pays to show them why they are wrong (using the sequences) and then direct them gently towards the sequences so they themselves could get more information.
Fourth: Add a feature where comments by users <1 year old or/and <100 karma are hidden. (Adjust numbers in settings.)
Agreed. This used to be fairly common, but I think it’s mostly discouraged now. As several people have pointed out, the Sequences are in total twice as long as the entire Lord of The Rings series. As RationalWiki put it:
As such, “You should try reading the sequences” is LessWrong for “f—you.”
With regard to your proposal:
Setting it up by karma seems better (I’ve been on for two months but I’m well over 200 karma, and I’d be mildly annoyed if most people couldn’t see my comments because I’m still new) The disadvantage is that a conversation between someone below the threshold and someone above it would either be partially visible to everyone else, increasing confusion, or invisible, meaning good discussions with low-karma users would be automatically buried.
An issue with that would be people below the karma limit would be likely to stay there. If a sizable portion of LWers have the limit, then those people couldn’t upvote comments of new users, making it harder for them to rise above the threshold.
That’s not a good solution. Most people will not go read the sequences just because someone told them. I think it pays to show them why they are wrong (using the sequences) and then direct them gently towards the sequences so they themselves could get more information.
Fourth: Add a feature where comments by users <1 year old or/and <100 karma are hidden. (Adjust numbers in settings.)
Agreed. This used to be fairly common, but I think it’s mostly discouraged now. As several people have pointed out, the Sequences are in total twice as long as the entire Lord of The Rings series. As RationalWiki put it:
With regard to your proposal: Setting it up by karma seems better (I’ve been on for two months but I’m well over 200 karma, and I’d be mildly annoyed if most people couldn’t see my comments because I’m still new) The disadvantage is that a conversation between someone below the threshold and someone above it would either be partially visible to everyone else, increasing confusion, or invisible, meaning good discussions with low-karma users would be automatically buried.
An issue with that would be people below the karma limit would be likely to stay there. If a sizable portion of LWers have the limit, then those people couldn’t upvote comments of new users, making it harder for them to rise above the threshold.