Online: systemic irrationality. Systemic self-reinforcing irrationality. That’s why I hang out here :P
In person, a mass lack of social skills make events unfun. Groups are much easier to get along with if they contain a reasonable mix of extroverts and introverts (read: at least two people who act like each).
I’ve discovered that there are a few things that can scare me away from an interesting place:
Dysfunctional behavior. A lot of people who have sharp minds don’t always apply that in the emotional realm and their behavior shows it. There’s a difference between harmless instances of social skill failures and a complete failure to develop as a human being. I don’t think “irrationality” covers it. I’m speaking more of a lack of moral maturity. The creepers who think the world revolves around them and the various kinds of dysfunctional behaviors that result in people hurting each other emotionally. I was recently disappointed with the amount of dysfunctional behavior I discovered in a group that I liked and have not been back for some time.
Elitist behavior, or seeing a bunch of people commit social suicide by smearing the group as “elitist” in public. I considered quitting LessWrong because of that. I decided to stay a bit longer because there’s a possibility that the pro “elitism” people will see the error of this and there are enough good things about the group that it seems worthwhile to see whether they reconsider.
What factors would tend to give you a bad impression of a community, either online or in person? (That’s sort of two questions, but they’re related)
Online: systemic irrationality. Systemic self-reinforcing irrationality. That’s why I hang out here :P
In person, a mass lack of social skills make events unfun. Groups are much easier to get along with if they contain a reasonable mix of extroverts and introverts (read: at least two people who act like each).
I’ve discovered that there are a few things that can scare me away from an interesting place:
Dysfunctional behavior. A lot of people who have sharp minds don’t always apply that in the emotional realm and their behavior shows it. There’s a difference between harmless instances of social skill failures and a complete failure to develop as a human being. I don’t think “irrationality” covers it. I’m speaking more of a lack of moral maturity. The creepers who think the world revolves around them and the various kinds of dysfunctional behaviors that result in people hurting each other emotionally. I was recently disappointed with the amount of dysfunctional behavior I discovered in a group that I liked and have not been back for some time.
Elitist behavior, or seeing a bunch of people commit social suicide by smearing the group as “elitist” in public. I considered quitting LessWrong because of that. I decided to stay a bit longer because there’s a possibility that the pro “elitism” people will see the error of this and there are enough good things about the group that it seems worthwhile to see whether they reconsider.