I think it’s great that you are offering your time for the betterment of LW. Kudos to you. (I think you already improve LW with your posts, by the way.)
You’ve brought up an “off-topic” subforum. What is the difference between this and the regular open thread? Would it mainly be that the link to it was constantly displayed at the top (up by Main and Discussion)?
A usage quibble: Did you mean “defuse” here?
it could diffuse debates over “what topics are appropriate for LessWrong.”
I get the impression that the open thread tends to get used less for “off-topic” discussion than for brief and fragmentary thoughts. I admit this may not be the intent… but lack of clarity is part of the problem here. Adopting standard internet forums conventions, I suspect, would encourage better discussions. Open threads are standard for blogs, and LessWrong is a spin off of the blog Overcoming Bias, but it’s clear that Discussion is currently squarely in the “forum,” not “blog” category.
I think it’s great that you are offering your time for the betterment of LW. Kudos to you. (I think you already improve LW with your posts, by the way.)
You’ve brought up an “off-topic” subforum. What is the difference between this and the regular open thread? Would it mainly be that the link to it was constantly displayed at the top (up by Main and Discussion)?
A usage quibble: Did you mean “defuse” here?
Thanks!
I get the impression that the open thread tends to get used less for “off-topic” discussion than for brief and fragmentary thoughts. I admit this may not be the intent… but lack of clarity is part of the problem here. Adopting standard internet forums conventions, I suspect, would encourage better discussions. Open threads are standard for blogs, and LessWrong is a spin off of the blog Overcoming Bias, but it’s clear that Discussion is currently squarely in the “forum,” not “blog” category.
Yes. Thanks for catching that.