I strongly disapprove of upvoting low quality or unwanted posts simply to be nice to someone
I agree. Upvoting low quality posts is not what I am recommending. I maintain that the post in question was not low quality, but a generous invitation well suited to our community, and that dismissing it as an ad was a bad response.
Advertisements can offer useful things. The free CDs given out by AOL can be erased and used to store data. Less Wrong is not a place to get “generous invitations”, it’s a place to read information and arguments to do with rationality. An invitation to a black tie dinner is a thoughtful gesture, but asking “What the heck is this doing on Less Wrong”? is an appropriate response to such a gesture.
The free CDs given out by AOL can be erased and used to store data.
I don’t think this is true. It’s cheaper and more reliable to stamp a few million CD-ROMs from a master than it is to get each of them spinning, fire a laser at them, and then make them stop spinning.
I agree. Upvoting low quality posts is not what I am recommending. I maintain that the post in question was not low quality, but a generous invitation well suited to our community, and that dismissing it as an ad was a bad response.
Advertisements can offer useful things. The free CDs given out by AOL can be erased and used to store data. Less Wrong is not a place to get “generous invitations”, it’s a place to read information and arguments to do with rationality. An invitation to a black tie dinner is a thoughtful gesture, but asking “What the heck is this doing on Less Wrong”? is an appropriate response to such a gesture.
I don’t think this is true. It’s cheaper and more reliable to stamp a few million CD-ROMs from a master than it is to get each of them spinning, fire a laser at them, and then make them stop spinning.
Me neither.