I didn’t exactly realize it, but I reduced the probability. My goal was never to make a bet, my goal was to sockblock Will. But in the end I found his protestations somewhat convincing; he actually sounded for a moment like someone earnestly defending himself, rather than like a joker. And I wasn’t in the mood to re-run my comparison between the Gospel of Will and the Knitter’s Apocryphon. So I tried to retire the bet in a fair way, since having an ostentatious unsubstantiated accusation of sockpuppetry in the air is almost as corrosive to community trust as it is to be beset by the real thing. (ETA: I posted this before I saw Kevin’s comment, by the way!)
“Next time just don’t be a dick and you won’t lose a hundred bucks,” says the unreflective part of my brain whose connotations I don’t necessarily endorse but who I think does have a legitimate point.
You not being Will_Newsome. (I can’t imagine how bizarre it must be to be watching this conversation from your perspective.)
Wait, but what changed that caused Mitchell_Porter to realize that?
I didn’t exactly realize it, but I reduced the probability. My goal was never to make a bet, my goal was to sockblock Will. But in the end I found his protestations somewhat convincing; he actually sounded for a moment like someone earnestly defending himself, rather than like a joker. And I wasn’t in the mood to re-run my comparison between the Gospel of Will and the Knitter’s Apocryphon. So I tried to retire the bet in a fair way, since having an ostentatious unsubstantiated accusation of sockpuppetry in the air is almost as corrosive to community trust as it is to be beset by the real thing. (ETA: I posted this before I saw Kevin’s comment, by the way!)
“Next time just don’t be a dick and you won’t lose a hundred bucks,” says the unreflective part of my brain whose connotations I don’t necessarily endorse but who I think does have a legitimate point.
No idea. Don’t have to show your cards if you fold...
I think he just gave up and didn’t want to be the guy sowing seeds of discontent with no evidence. That kind of thing is bad for communities.
Mitchell asked Will directly at http://lesswrong.com/lw/b9/welcome_to_less_wrong/5jby so perhaps he just trusts Will not to lie when using the Will_Newsome account.