Even if my community size never grows beyond n=1 (which arguably it already has, since I’ve had several lengthy debates with people who aren’t me), the level of error still can’t be any worse than it would be had I not started the site (or posted my opinions anywhere) in the first place, right?
That said, yes, community is important. (I’m not sure “worried” is what you really meant, but I am certainly concerned about it.) Unfortunately, I don’t see any options at present for improving the situation, given my time availability.
(This also strikes me as a further reason for “being bold” when making assertions—or “setting the bar quite low” for verification, as dripgrind put it—an extreme assertion is more likely to draw in a debate than a mild one. I don’t go out of my way to make a given statement more extreme, but I try to avoid tempering what I say any more than is necessary to ensure defensibility based on the facts as I understand them.)
the level of error still can’t be any worse than it would be had I not started the site (or posted my opinions anywhere) in the first place, right?
It could be—you could interpret lack of response as evidence that there are not good arguments against your position rather than as lack of interest in engaging with you on the issues or lack of discovery / knowledge of the site for example. Not saying you do that but it is an example of a way in which you could have your confidence in incorrect opinions increased through the creation of this site if the community is small or significantly self selecting.
Even if my community size never grows beyond n=1 (which arguably it already has, since I’ve had several lengthy debates with people who aren’t me), the level of error still can’t be any worse than it would be had I not started the site (or posted my opinions anywhere) in the first place, right?
That said, yes, community is important. (I’m not sure “worried” is what you really meant, but I am certainly concerned about it.) Unfortunately, I don’t see any options at present for improving the situation, given my time availability.
(This also strikes me as a further reason for “being bold” when making assertions—or “setting the bar quite low” for verification, as dripgrind put it—an extreme assertion is more likely to draw in a debate than a mild one. I don’t go out of my way to make a given statement more extreme, but I try to avoid tempering what I say any more than is necessary to ensure defensibility based on the facts as I understand them.)
It could be—you could interpret lack of response as evidence that there are not good arguments against your position rather than as lack of interest in engaging with you on the issues or lack of discovery / knowledge of the site for example. Not saying you do that but it is an example of a way in which you could have your confidence in incorrect opinions increased through the creation of this site if the community is small or significantly self selecting.
Community building is hard, but some things you can try, like submitting to reddit, are easy.