I came to Less Wrong in 2009 because of posts I noticed on the Doomsday Argument, which I have written about in the peer-reviewed literature. Recently, I self-published a short e-book which addresses the subject along with other subjects that I think would be of interest to this community. But the book is not free—the price is $4—and I am concerned that I might be violating etiquette if I self-promote it in a Discussion post. (I do have four karma points.)
In a post I have drafted (but not submitted) for Less Wrong, I summarize part of my book; I also invite professional scholars and educators to email me to request a complimentary evaluation copy, and I extend the same offer to the first ten Less Wrong members with a Karma Score of 100 or greater who email me. Would such an offer be in keeping with Less Wrong’s etiquette? I am open to other suggestions. However, partly in order to avoid potential conflicts with the original publisher of an article of mine that this book expands upon, I do not want to make the book free to everyone.
My own personal take is that if the summary is enough to grapple with and fairly evaluate, so that people who don’t buy the book or get it for free can get still something out of that post (something comparable to your average Discussion post), then it’s fine. Good material is good material wherever it comes from—Gary Drescher’s Good and Real was not available for free but discussing it here with him was still fine because the material was very good.
(The last author to get bitten here was promoting a book that the LWer who read it described as extremely fluffy, uncomprehensive, and a good example of bad business books.)
I came to Less Wrong in 2009 because of posts I noticed on the Doomsday Argument, which I have written about in the peer-reviewed literature. Recently, I self-published a short e-book which addresses the subject along with other subjects that I think would be of interest to this community. But the book is not free—the price is $4—and I am concerned that I might be violating etiquette if I self-promote it in a Discussion post. (I do have four karma points.)
In a post I have drafted (but not submitted) for Less Wrong, I summarize part of my book; I also invite professional scholars and educators to email me to request a complimentary evaluation copy, and I extend the same offer to the first ten Less Wrong members with a Karma Score of 100 or greater who email me. Would such an offer be in keeping with Less Wrong’s etiquette? I am open to other suggestions. However, partly in order to avoid potential conflicts with the original publisher of an article of mine that this book expands upon, I do not want to make the book free to everyone.
My own personal take is that if the summary is enough to grapple with and fairly evaluate, so that people who don’t buy the book or get it for free can get still something out of that post (something comparable to your average Discussion post), then it’s fine. Good material is good material wherever it comes from—Gary Drescher’s Good and Real was not available for free but discussing it here with him was still fine because the material was very good.
(The last author to get bitten here was promoting a book that the LWer who read it described as extremely fluffy, uncomprehensive, and a good example of bad business books.)