I’m disappointed in some of you. Am I the only person who prefers feeling elitist and hipstery to spreading rationality?
In all seriousness, though, I don’t see why this is getting down voted. Eternal September probably isn’t our biggest issue, but the massive increase in users is likely to cause problems, and those problems should be addressed. I personally don’t like the idea of answering the horde of newbies with restrictions based on seniority or karma. That’s not really fair and can select for poster who have used up their best ideas while shutting out new viewpoints. I much prefer the calls for restrictions based on merit and understanding, like the rationality quiz proposed below, or attempts to enlighten new users or even older users who have forgotten some of the better memes here. I also like the idea of a moderator of some kind, but my anti-authoritarian tendencies make me wary of allotting that person too much power as they are assuredly biased and will have a severely limited ability to control all the content here, which will generate unfairness and turn some people off.
I doubt that endless September is the main problem here, but I think it’s pretty clear that this site just isn’t as useful, or more importantly, fun, as it used to be. I notice that I come here less and less every day, and that more and more opinions that should be presented in discussions just aren’t.
I think we need to fix that. I maintain that Lesswrong is the best thing to ever happen to me, and I want it to keep happening to other people. We need a more general assessment of the problem and ways to solve it. I honestly do miss some of the (admittedly somewhat elitist) optimism that used to flood this site.
We’re rationalists. We aimed to build gods, eradicate the plagues of the human mind, and beat death itself. We said we’d win a staring contest with the empty, uncaring abyss of reality. We sought to rewrite human knowledge; to decide what, over the past 8 thousand years, was useful, and what wasn’t.
If we can’t keep one little community productive, we might as well hang up our hats and let the world get turned into paper clips, cause we’ve shown there’s not much we can do to about it one way or the other.
Eternal September probably isn’t our biggest issue
What would that be in your opinion?
the massive increase in users is likely to cause problems, and those problems should be addressed.
Thank you pleeppleep for bringing this up. I am especially curious about why this thread has been hovering between −3 and 1 karma when the majority of people are concerned about this, and have chosen a solution for at least one problem. If you get any theories, please let me know.
more and more opinions that should be presented in discussions just aren’t.
People have theorized that the users who might post these discussions are too intimidated to post. Do you have additional theories, or do you think this is the problem, too?
I maintain that Lesswrong is the best thing to ever happen to me
It is one of the best things that’s happened to me, too. I feel strongly about protecting it.
We need a more general assessment of the problem and ways to solve it.
How would you describe the problem? What would you suggest for ways to assess it?
I honestly do miss some of the (admittedly somewhat elitist) optimism that used to flood this site.
What do you mean by that exactly? (No, I will not bite your head off about elitism. I have strong feelings about specific the type of elitism that means abusing others with the excuse that one is “better than” them, but I am curious to hear about any and all other varieties.)
We’re rationalists. We aimed to build gods, eradicate the plagues of the human mind, and beat death itself. We said we’d win a staring contest with the empty, uncaring abyss of reality. We sought to rewrite human knowledge. To decide what, over the past 8 thousand years, was useful, and what wasn’t.
Wow. That’s inspirational. Okay, I think I know what “elitist optimism” means now. I don’t agree with the goal of building gods (an awesome idea but super dangerous), but I want to quote this in places. I will need to find places to quote it in.
If we can’t keep one little community productive, we might as well hang up our hats and let the world get turned into paper clips, cause we’ve shown there’s not much we can do to about it one way or the other.
I’d say our biggest issue lately is lack of direction. The classic topics are getting kinda old now, and we don’t really seem to be able to commit to any replacements. Anything in the sequences is pretty firmly established so nobody talks much about them anymore, and without them we kinda drift to things like the “rational” way to brush your teeth. If the site starts to feel watered down, I don’t think it’s because of new users, but because of shallow topics. Endless September is probably the biggest issue drawing us towards the mainstream.
People have theorized that the users who might post these discussions are too intimidated to post. Do you have additional theories, or do you think this is the problem, too?
I’m not really sure what the cause for this is, but I’d say that the above theory or general apathy on the part of some of the better contributors are the most likely.
How would you describe the problem? What would you suggest for ways to assess it?
Like I said before, the site’s starting to feel watered down. It seems like the fire that drew us here is beginning to die down. It’s probably just an effect of time letting the ideas settle in, but I still think we should be able to counter the problem if we’re all we’re cracked up to be.
I think it’s really good that Eliezer is writing a new sequence, but I don’t think he can support the community’s ambition all on his own anymore. We need something new. Something that gets us at least as excited as the old sequences. Something that gets us back in the mood to take on the universe, blind idiot god and all.
I think that a lot of us just sort of settled back into our mundane lives once the high from thinking about conquering the stars wore off. I think we should find a way to feel as strong as we did once we realized how much of man’s mind is malfunctioning and how powerful we would become if we could get past that. I really don’t know if we can recapture that spirit, but if it’s possible, then it shouldn’t be harder than figuring out FAI.
I’m disappointed in some of you. Am I the only person who prefers feeling elitist and hipstery to spreading rationality?
In all seriousness, though, I don’t see why this is getting down voted. Eternal September probably isn’t our biggest issue, but the massive increase in users is likely to cause problems, and those problems should be addressed. I personally don’t like the idea of answering the horde of newbies with restrictions based on seniority or karma. That’s not really fair and can select for poster who have used up their best ideas while shutting out new viewpoints. I much prefer the calls for restrictions based on merit and understanding, like the rationality quiz proposed below, or attempts to enlighten new users or even older users who have forgotten some of the better memes here. I also like the idea of a moderator of some kind, but my anti-authoritarian tendencies make me wary of allotting that person too much power as they are assuredly biased and will have a severely limited ability to control all the content here, which will generate unfairness and turn some people off.
I doubt that endless September is the main problem here, but I think it’s pretty clear that this site just isn’t as useful, or more importantly, fun, as it used to be. I notice that I come here less and less every day, and that more and more opinions that should be presented in discussions just aren’t.
I think we need to fix that. I maintain that Lesswrong is the best thing to ever happen to me, and I want it to keep happening to other people. We need a more general assessment of the problem and ways to solve it. I honestly do miss some of the (admittedly somewhat elitist) optimism that used to flood this site.
We’re rationalists. We aimed to build gods, eradicate the plagues of the human mind, and beat death itself. We said we’d win a staring contest with the empty, uncaring abyss of reality. We sought to rewrite human knowledge; to decide what, over the past 8 thousand years, was useful, and what wasn’t.
If we can’t keep one little community productive, we might as well hang up our hats and let the world get turned into paper clips, cause we’ve shown there’s not much we can do to about it one way or the other.
What would that be in your opinion?
Thank you pleeppleep for bringing this up. I am especially curious about why this thread has been hovering between −3 and 1 karma when the majority of people are concerned about this, and have chosen a solution for at least one problem. If you get any theories, please let me know.
People have theorized that the users who might post these discussions are too intimidated to post. Do you have additional theories, or do you think this is the problem, too?
It is one of the best things that’s happened to me, too. I feel strongly about protecting it.
How would you describe the problem? What would you suggest for ways to assess it?
What do you mean by that exactly? (No, I will not bite your head off about elitism. I have strong feelings about specific the type of elitism that means abusing others with the excuse that one is “better than” them, but I am curious to hear about any and all other varieties.)
Wow. That’s inspirational. Okay, I think I know what “elitist optimism” means now. I don’t agree with the goal of building gods (an awesome idea but super dangerous), but I want to quote this in places. I will need to find places to quote it in.
Upvote. (:
I’d say our biggest issue lately is lack of direction. The classic topics are getting kinda old now, and we don’t really seem to be able to commit to any replacements. Anything in the sequences is pretty firmly established so nobody talks much about them anymore, and without them we kinda drift to things like the “rational” way to brush your teeth. If the site starts to feel watered down, I don’t think it’s because of new users, but because of shallow topics. Endless September is probably the biggest issue drawing us towards the mainstream.
I’m not really sure what the cause for this is, but I’d say that the above theory or general apathy on the part of some of the better contributors are the most likely.
Like I said before, the site’s starting to feel watered down. It seems like the fire that drew us here is beginning to die down. It’s probably just an effect of time letting the ideas settle in, but I still think we should be able to counter the problem if we’re all we’re cracked up to be.
I think it’s really good that Eliezer is writing a new sequence, but I don’t think he can support the community’s ambition all on his own anymore. We need something new. Something that gets us at least as excited as the old sequences. Something that gets us back in the mood to take on the universe, blind idiot god and all.
I think that a lot of us just sort of settled back into our mundane lives once the high from thinking about conquering the stars wore off. I think we should find a way to feel as strong as we did once we realized how much of man’s mind is malfunctioning and how powerful we would become if we could get past that. I really don’t know if we can recapture that spirit, but if it’s possible, then it shouldn’t be harder than figuring out FAI.