You don’t need to delete any of your posts or comments. What I mainly fear is that if I was to delete posts, without linking to archived versions, then you would forever go around implying that all kinds of horrible things could have been found on those pages, and that me deleting them is evidence of this.
If you promise not to do anything like that, and stop portraying me as somehow being the worst person on Earth, then I’ll delete the comments, passages or posts that you deem offending.
But if there is nothing reasonable I could do to ever improve your opinion of me (i.e. other than donating all my money to MIRI), as if I committed some deadly sin, then this is a waste of time.
I would be willing to delete them because they offend certain people and could have been written much more benignly, with more rigor, and also because some of them might actually be misrepresentations which I accidentally made. Another reason for deletion would be that they have negative expected value, not because the arguments are necessarily wrong.
And if you agree, then please think about the Streisand effect. And if you e.g. ask me to delete my basilisk page, think about whether people could start believing that I take it seriously and as a result take it more seriously themselves. I have thought about this before and couldn’t reach a conclusive answer.
This is obviously not an agreement to delete everything you might want, such as my interview series.
I wouldn’t want you to delete the interview series anyway. The things that most offended me was this: the title of “http://kruel.co/2013/01/10/the-singularity-institute-how-they-brainwash-you/″ is absurdly offensive and inappropriate if you don’t believe in the deliberate ill intent of MIRI. If you don’t want to delete the post altogether, at least rename it to “How they convince you”. When you use ‘brainwash’ or ‘trick’ or ‘con’, you’re accusing them of being criminals. Only say such words if you really believe it.
I was also primarily going to say to delete all the contents of your ‘mockery index’ , which I believe you yourself had already admitted was unfair mockery, but it seems you have already delete them. I’m glad and pleasantly surprised.
Assuming the mockery index pages remain deleted, and you delete or rename the ‘how they brainwash you’ page, I DO promise to refrain from discussing you again in any way (reasonable caveats like you not discussing me are assumed), and will certainly be open to a more positive interpretation of your character (not that you’ll be able to tell, since I won’t be discussing you). Also keep in mind that my opinion of other Rationalwiki editors remains unchanged, and I’m still free to criticize and condemn Rationalwiki for reasons unrelated to your connections there.
As a sidenote, I also suggest and encourage you to consider the things that other people here (like Halfwitz) have said annoyed them.
I already deleted the ‘mockery index’ (which had included a disclaimer for some months that read that I distant myself from those outsourced posts). I also deleted the second post you mentioned.
I wrote the post below during years in which, I now recognize, I was locked in a venom-filled flamewar against a community which I actually like and appreciate, despite what I perceive as its faults. I do not automatically repudiate my arguments and factual points, but if you read the below, please note that I regret the venom and the personal attacks and that I may well have quote-mined and misrepresented persons and communities. I now wish I wrote it all in a kinder spirit.
I also completely deleted the post ‘Why you should be wary of the Singularity Institute’.
Yesterday I also deleted the Yudkowsky quotes page and the personality page.
You don’t need to delete any of your posts or comments. What I mainly fear is that if I was to delete posts, without linking to archived versions, then you would forever go around implying that all kinds of horrible things could have been found on those pages, and that me deleting them is evidence of this.
If you promise not to do anything like that, and stop portraying me as somehow being the worst person on Earth, then I’ll delete the comments, passages or posts that you deem offending.
But if there is nothing reasonable I could do to ever improve your opinion of me (i.e. other than donating all my money to MIRI), as if I committed some deadly sin, then this is a waste of time.
I would be willing to delete them because they offend certain people and could have been written much more benignly, with more rigor, and also because some of them might actually be misrepresentations which I accidentally made. Another reason for deletion would be that they have negative expected value, not because the arguments are necessarily wrong.
And if you agree, then please think about the Streisand effect. And if you e.g. ask me to delete my basilisk page, think about whether people could start believing that I take it seriously and as a result take it more seriously themselves. I have thought about this before and couldn’t reach a conclusive answer.
This is obviously not an agreement to delete everything you might want, such as my interview series.
I wouldn’t want you to delete the interview series anyway. The things that most offended me was this: the title of “http://kruel.co/2013/01/10/the-singularity-institute-how-they-brainwash-you/″ is absurdly offensive and inappropriate if you don’t believe in the deliberate ill intent of MIRI. If you don’t want to delete the post altogether, at least rename it to “How they convince you”. When you use ‘brainwash’ or ‘trick’ or ‘con’, you’re accusing them of being criminals. Only say such words if you really believe it.
I’d also like the deletion of http://kruel.co/2012/05/12/we-are-siai-argument-is-futile/ Putting words into SIAI’s mouth as if it accurately presents its side of the case is unfair.
I was also primarily going to say to delete all the contents of your ‘mockery index’ , which I believe you yourself had already admitted was unfair mockery, but it seems you have already delete them. I’m glad and pleasantly surprised.
Assuming the mockery index pages remain deleted, and you delete or rename the ‘how they brainwash you’ page, I DO promise to refrain from discussing you again in any way (reasonable caveats like you not discussing me are assumed), and will certainly be open to a more positive interpretation of your character (not that you’ll be able to tell, since I won’t be discussing you). Also keep in mind that my opinion of other Rationalwiki editors remains unchanged, and I’m still free to criticize and condemn Rationalwiki for reasons unrelated to your connections there.
As a sidenote, I also suggest and encourage you to consider the things that other people here (like Halfwitz) have said annoyed them.
I already deleted the ‘mockery index’ (which had included a disclaimer for some months that read that I distant myself from those outsourced posts). I also deleted the second post you mentioned.
I changed the brainwash post to ‘The Singularity Institute: How They Convince You’ and added the following disclaimer suggested by user Anatoly Vorobey:
I also completely deleted the post ‘Why you should be wary of the Singularity Institute’.
Yesterday I also deleted the Yudkowsky quotes page and the personality page.
Thank you. I’ll likewise keep my promise.