I think more downvoting being the solution depends on the goals. If our goal is only to maintain the current quality, that seems like a solution. If the goal is to grow in users and quality, I think diverting people to a real-time discussion location like Discord could be more effective.
Eg. a new user coming to this site might not have any idea a particular article exists that they should read before writing and posting their 3 page thesis on why AI will/wont be great, only to have their work downvoted (it is insulting and off-putting to be downvoted) and in the end we may miss out on persuading/gaining people. In a chat a quick back and forth could steer them in the right direction right off the bat.
I think diverting people to a real-time discussion location like Discord could be more effective.
Agreed—which raises to mind the following question: does LW currently have anything like an official/primary public chatroom (whether hosted on Discord or elsewhere)? If not, it may be worth creating one, announcing it in a post (for visibility), and maintaining a prominently visible link to it on e.g. the sidebar (which is what many subreddits do).
I think more downvoting being the solution depends on the goals. If our goal is only to maintain the current quality, that seems like a solution. If the goal is to grow in users and quality, I think diverting people to a real-time discussion location like Discord could be more effective.
Eg. a new user coming to this site might not have any idea a particular article exists that they should read before writing and posting their 3 page thesis on why AI will/wont be great, only to have their work downvoted (it is insulting and off-putting to be downvoted) and in the end we may miss out on persuading/gaining people. In a chat a quick back and forth could steer them in the right direction right off the bat.
Agreed—which raises to mind the following question: does LW currently have anything like an official/primary public chatroom (whether hosted on Discord or elsewhere)? If not, it may be worth creating one, announcing it in a post (for visibility), and maintaining a prominently visible link to it on e.g. the sidebar (which is what many subreddits do).