the punishment consists of nothing more than the explanation itself
You do explain things, but simultaneously you express judgment about the error, which distracts (and thereby detracts) from the explanation. It doesn’t seem to be the case that the punishment consists only of the explanation. An explanation would be stating things like “I don’t actually believe this”, while statements like “Nothing I have said suggests this. Indeed, this is explicitly incompatible with my words as I have written them and it is bizarre that it has come up.” communicate your judgment about the error, which is additional information that is not particularly useful as part of the explanation of the error. Also, discussing the nature of the error would be even more helpful than stating what it is, for example in the same thread Wei still didn’t understand his error after reading your comment, while Vaniver’s follow-up clarified it nicely: “his point is that if you misunderstand the dynamics of the system, then you can both have the best motives and the worst consequences” (with some flaws, like saying “best”/”worst”, but this is beside the point).
You will note that Vladimir referred to both.
(I didn’t refer to either, I was speaking more generally than this particular conversation. Note how this is an explanation of the way in which your guess happens to be wrong, which is distinct from saying things like “your claims to having mind-reading abilities are abhorrent” etc.)
statements like “Nothing I have said suggests this. Indeed, this is explicitly incompatible with my words as I have written them
Are significant. It does matter whether or not actual words expressed are being ignored or overwhelmed by insinuations and ‘hypotheses’ that the speaker believes and would have others believe. It is not-OK to say that people believe things that their words right there in the context say something completely different.
communicate your judgment about the error
Yes, that is intended. The error is a social one for which it is legitimate to claim offense. That is, to judge that the thing should not be done and suggest to observers also consider that said thing should not be done. Please see my earlier explanation regarding why outlawing the claiming of offense for this type of norm violation is considered detrimental (by me and, implicitly, by most civilised social groups). The precise details of how best to claim offense can and should be optimised for best effect. I of course agree that there is much that I could do to convey my intended point in such a way that I am most likely to get my most desired outcomes. Yet this remains an optimisation of how to most effectively convey “No, incompatible, offense”.
I was speaking more generally than this particular conversation.
So was I, with the statement this replies to.
Note how this is an explanation of the way in which your guess happens to be wrong
I understand that, my point is that this is the part of the punishment that explains something other than the object-level error in question, which is the distinction Wei was also trying to make.
(I guess my position on offense is that one should deliberately avoid taking or expressing offense in all situations. There are other modes of social enforcement that don’t have offense’s mind-killing properties.)
I was speaking more generally than this particular conversation.
I guess my position on offense is that one should deliberately avoid taking or expressing offense in all situations. There are other modes of social enforcement that don’t have offense’s mind-killing properties.
That doesn’t seem right, although perhaps you define “offence claiming” more narrowly than I. I’m talking about anything up from making the simple statement “this shouldn’t be done”. Basically the least invasive sort of social intervention I can imagine, apart downvoting and body language indications—but even then my understanding is that is where most communication along the lines of ‘offense taking’ actually happens.
You do explain things, but simultaneously you express judgment about the error, which distracts (and thereby detracts) from the explanation. It doesn’t seem to be the case that the punishment consists only of the explanation. An explanation would be stating things like “I don’t actually believe this”, while statements like “Nothing I have said suggests this. Indeed, this is explicitly incompatible with my words as I have written them and it is bizarre that it has come up.” communicate your judgment about the error, which is additional information that is not particularly useful as part of the explanation of the error. Also, discussing the nature of the error would be even more helpful than stating what it is, for example in the same thread Wei still didn’t understand his error after reading your comment, while Vaniver’s follow-up clarified it nicely: “his point is that if you misunderstand the dynamics of the system, then you can both have the best motives and the worst consequences” (with some flaws, like saying “best”/”worst”, but this is beside the point).
(I didn’t refer to either, I was speaking more generally than this particular conversation. Note how this is an explanation of the way in which your guess happens to be wrong, which is distinct from saying things like “your claims to having mind-reading abilities are abhorrent” etc.)
Are significant. It does matter whether or not actual words expressed are being ignored or overwhelmed by insinuations and ‘hypotheses’ that the speaker believes and would have others believe. It is not-OK to say that people believe things that their words right there in the context say something completely different.
Yes, that is intended. The error is a social one for which it is legitimate to claim offense. That is, to judge that the thing should not be done and suggest to observers also consider that said thing should not be done. Please see my earlier explanation regarding why outlawing the claiming of offense for this type of norm violation is considered detrimental (by me and, implicitly, by most civilised social groups). The precise details of how best to claim offense can and should be optimised for best effect. I of course agree that there is much that I could do to convey my intended point in such a way that I am most likely to get my most desired outcomes. Yet this remains an optimisation of how to most effectively convey “No, incompatible, offense”.
So was I, with the statement this replies to.
So no, it isn’t.
I understand that, my point is that this is the part of the punishment that explains something other than the object-level error in question, which is the distinction Wei was also trying to make.
(I guess my position on offense is that one should deliberately avoid taking or expressing offense in all situations. There are other modes of social enforcement that don’t have offense’s mind-killing properties.)
Okay.
That doesn’t seem right, although perhaps you define “offence claiming” more narrowly than I. I’m talking about anything up from making the simple statement “this shouldn’t be done”. Basically the least invasive sort of social intervention I can imagine, apart downvoting and body language indications—but even then my understanding is that is where most communication along the lines of ‘offense taking’ actually happens.