I also get what the intent of the title was, but I can’t help but feel like it cheapens an otherwise excellent post (and it might make some people skip over it altogether).
I’m not sure what you mean by “cheapening” the post—explain? I’m concerned by the possibility that the title might encourage skipping. Any suggestions on what, if anything, would be a better substitute?
In general, if I saw that title on Reddit or Hacker News or in my feed reader, I would never click on it. It’s kind of generic and doesn’t really tell you much about the content, and that phrase is highly associated with political TV ads (which are uniformly bad), a Very Bad Thing IMHO. I was actually going to skip it, but saw your username and the number of votes it had.
As a LW post specifically, I feel like almost all the “classic” OB/LW posts had memorable titles that make it easy to remember what the post is about and serve as a kind of hook/shortcut for that particular concept (f.ex. Probability is in the Mind, The map is not the Territory, Avoiding Your Belief’s Real Weak Points, Cached Thoughts, The Beauty of Settled Science, An Alien God, Applause Lights—I’m sure that when you read these titles, if you’ve read the posts, you immediately remember the central concept of each of these posts).
If I think about the title of your post, I have to make an effort to remember what it’s about, and I predict that I’ll have a harder time remembering it over time because of the title.
But maybe that’s just me and it doesn’t bother others, though.
As a LW post specifically, I feel like almost all the “classic” OB/LW posts had memorable titles that make it easy to remember what the post is about and serve as a kind of hook/shortcut for that particular concept
I think Alicorn was making a reference to how ads for political candidates in the US now have to include the candidate saying “I’m [so-and-so], and I approve this message.” That, or the meme has just caught on. Either way, it may help to know the significance of that phrasing.
(Or it’s just a coincidental phrasing, but who care’s about that possibility...)
(Previous title was IIRC “I’m Alicorn, and I approve this message.”)
I was also confused by the title. After this explanation I “get it,” but it wasn’t obvious to me at all. Not really a criticism, just a comment.
I also get what the intent of the title was, but I can’t help but feel like it cheapens an otherwise excellent post (and it might make some people skip over it altogether).
I found it odd, but not so much as to discourage me from reading the post; and I found it amusing and clever after reading it.
Maybe put it in the subtitle?
I’m not sure what you mean by “cheapening” the post—explain? I’m concerned by the possibility that the title might encourage skipping. Any suggestions on what, if anything, would be a better substitute?
In general, if I saw that title on Reddit or Hacker News or in my feed reader, I would never click on it. It’s kind of generic and doesn’t really tell you much about the content, and that phrase is highly associated with political TV ads (which are uniformly bad), a Very Bad Thing IMHO. I was actually going to skip it, but saw your username and the number of votes it had.
As a LW post specifically, I feel like almost all the “classic” OB/LW posts had memorable titles that make it easy to remember what the post is about and serve as a kind of hook/shortcut for that particular concept (f.ex. Probability is in the Mind, The map is not the Territory, Avoiding Your Belief’s Real Weak Points, Cached Thoughts, The Beauty of Settled Science, An Alien God, Applause Lights—I’m sure that when you read these titles, if you’ve read the posts, you immediately remember the central concept of each of these posts).
If I think about the title of your post, I have to make an effort to remember what it’s about, and I predict that I’ll have a harder time remembering it over time because of the title.
But maybe that’s just me and it doesn’t bother others, though.
Apparently you have some similarly minded peers; I’ll change the title.
Personally, I was a fan of the previous title. The perils of not speaking out, alas.
I didn’t mind the old one, but I do like the “sticky brains” label that we can use for this concept in the future.
I think Alicorn was making a reference to how ads for political candidates in the US now have to include the candidate saying “I’m [so-and-so], and I approve this message.” That, or the meme has just caught on. Either way, it may help to know the significance of that phrasing.
(Or it’s just a coincidental phrasing, but who care’s about that possibility...)
(Previous title was IIRC “I’m Alicorn, and I approve this message.”)