Richard, I don’t think Less Wrong can survive losing both Ilya and you in the same week. I hope both of you reconsider. Either way, we definitely need to see this as a wake-up call. This forum has been in decline for a while, but this week I definitely think it hit a breaking point.
But no. If Richard leaves because a heavily-downvoted article and the comments trying to direct its author to think a little bit deeper offends his sensibilities, that of course is his choice, but it says little about the forum as a whole. Like Ilya, I don’t overly mind him, but he’s also not a critical piece of the infrastructure; they both did little constructive work, and the forum is oversaturated with people willing to tell low-status members what they’re doing wrong anyways, with nobody saying what they’re doing right.
I’ve got some sympathy for not wanting to be in a social environment when you’re disgusted by the low end. I still like SSC on the whole, but it’s drifting far enough right that it’s not as much fun for me as it used to be.
People who are inclined to be disgusted by the “low end” might do well to remember there are people watching them from further ahead still, as they berate their “lessers” for not being so advanced as themselves. You look forward, to those who are where you aspire to be—do you want them telling you how disgusting and backwards you are? Will being shoved backwards help you forwards?
No community will survive the impulse to spit on those still climbing up in lieu of a helping hand.
Richard, I don’t think Less Wrong can survive losing both Ilya and you in the same week. I hope both of you reconsider. Either way, we definitely need to see this as a wake-up call. This forum has been in decline for a while, but this week I definitely think it hit a breaking point.
Interesting. The cynics are jumping ship.
But no. If Richard leaves because a heavily-downvoted article and the comments trying to direct its author to think a little bit deeper offends his sensibilities, that of course is his choice, but it says little about the forum as a whole. Like Ilya, I don’t overly mind him, but he’s also not a critical piece of the infrastructure; they both did little constructive work, and the forum is oversaturated with people willing to tell low-status members what they’re doing wrong anyways, with nobody saying what they’re doing right.
I’ve got some sympathy for not wanting to be in a social environment when you’re disgusted by the low end. I still like SSC on the whole, but it’s drifting far enough right that it’s not as much fun for me as it used to be.
People who are inclined to be disgusted by the “low end” might do well to remember there are people watching them from further ahead still, as they berate their “lessers” for not being so advanced as themselves. You look forward, to those who are where you aspire to be—do you want them telling you how disgusting and backwards you are? Will being shoved backwards help you forwards?
No community will survive the impulse to spit on those still climbing up in lieu of a helping hand.