Even ignoring Alicorn’s actual explanation, given that she is the third-highest karma contributor, it’s fair to say that she does have high status here.
It’s my impression that, regardless of whether or not you actually have status, acting like you do is probably undesirable, as it gets you thinking in the wrong patterns.
I also get what the intent of the title was, but I can’t help but feel like it cheapens an otherwise excellent post (and it might make some people skip over it altogether).
I’m not sure what you mean by “cheapening” the post—explain? I’m concerned by the possibility that the title might encourage skipping. Any suggestions on what, if anything, would be a better substitute?
In general, if I saw that title on Reddit or Hacker News or in my feed reader, I would never click on it. It’s kind of generic and doesn’t really tell you much about the content, and that phrase is highly associated with political TV ads (which are uniformly bad), a Very Bad Thing IMHO. I was actually going to skip it, but saw your username and the number of votes it had.
As a LW post specifically, I feel like almost all the “classic” OB/LW posts had memorable titles that make it easy to remember what the post is about and serve as a kind of hook/shortcut for that particular concept (f.ex. Probability is in the Mind, The map is not the Territory, Avoiding Your Belief’s Real Weak Points, Cached Thoughts, The Beauty of Settled Science, An Alien God, Applause Lights—I’m sure that when you read these titles, if you’ve read the posts, you immediately remember the central concept of each of these posts).
If I think about the title of your post, I have to make an effort to remember what it’s about, and I predict that I’ll have a harder time remembering it over time because of the title.
But maybe that’s just me and it doesn’t bother others, though.
As a LW post specifically, I feel like almost all the “classic” OB/LW posts had memorable titles that make it easy to remember what the post is about and serve as a kind of hook/shortcut for that particular concept
I think Alicorn was making a reference to how ads for political candidates in the US now have to include the candidate saying “I’m [so-and-so], and I approve this message.” That, or the meme has just caught on. Either way, it may help to know the significance of that phrasing.
(Or it’s just a coincidental phrasing, but who care’s about that possibility...)
(Previous title was IIRC “I’m Alicorn, and I approve this message.”)
I like this post, but I don’t like the title. I don’t see what it has to do with the content, and it seems to assert high status.
Even ignoring Alicorn’s actual explanation, given that she is the third-highest karma contributor, it’s fair to say that she does have high status here.
It’s my impression that, regardless of whether or not you actually have status, acting like you do is probably undesirable, as it gets you thinking in the wrong patterns.
It means that I endorse the contents of the post, which is about endorsed beliefs. It wasn’t meant to be status-asserting.
I was also confused by the title. After this explanation I “get it,” but it wasn’t obvious to me at all. Not really a criticism, just a comment.
I also get what the intent of the title was, but I can’t help but feel like it cheapens an otherwise excellent post (and it might make some people skip over it altogether).
I found it odd, but not so much as to discourage me from reading the post; and I found it amusing and clever after reading it.
Maybe put it in the subtitle?
I’m not sure what you mean by “cheapening” the post—explain? I’m concerned by the possibility that the title might encourage skipping. Any suggestions on what, if anything, would be a better substitute?
In general, if I saw that title on Reddit or Hacker News or in my feed reader, I would never click on it. It’s kind of generic and doesn’t really tell you much about the content, and that phrase is highly associated with political TV ads (which are uniformly bad), a Very Bad Thing IMHO. I was actually going to skip it, but saw your username and the number of votes it had.
As a LW post specifically, I feel like almost all the “classic” OB/LW posts had memorable titles that make it easy to remember what the post is about and serve as a kind of hook/shortcut for that particular concept (f.ex. Probability is in the Mind, The map is not the Territory, Avoiding Your Belief’s Real Weak Points, Cached Thoughts, The Beauty of Settled Science, An Alien God, Applause Lights—I’m sure that when you read these titles, if you’ve read the posts, you immediately remember the central concept of each of these posts).
If I think about the title of your post, I have to make an effort to remember what it’s about, and I predict that I’ll have a harder time remembering it over time because of the title.
But maybe that’s just me and it doesn’t bother others, though.
Apparently you have some similarly minded peers; I’ll change the title.
Personally, I was a fan of the previous title. The perils of not speaking out, alas.
I didn’t mind the old one, but I do like the “sticky brains” label that we can use for this concept in the future.
I think Alicorn was making a reference to how ads for political candidates in the US now have to include the candidate saying “I’m [so-and-so], and I approve this message.” That, or the meme has just caught on. Either way, it may help to know the significance of that phrasing.
(Or it’s just a coincidental phrasing, but who care’s about that possibility...)
(Previous title was IIRC “I’m Alicorn, and I approve this message.”)
I understand the joke, but the title nonetheless reminded me of the statements that political candidates make at the end of their commercials.
Of course. It’s supposed to. I repurposed the wording because it amused me to do so. I’m sorry if you don’t like it.