This is an absurd moderation policy to use on a post which you wrote for the purpose of learning something. It strongly signals that you care much less about learning anything than you do about fussy politeness norms.
It isn’t absurd, and it doesn’t at all signal what you say it signals. Alex_Altair didn’t ask for the comment to be removed, but for it to be changed to something more kind. Learning something is important, kindness is as well.
Given that Alex not just asked, but in fact did remove gwern’s comment, it would seem that you’re mistaken. It turns out that learning something is not important to the OP, after all.
I should have checked that, I’ll admit. Still, the comment wasn’t immediately removed and gwern did get the chance to change it (and still can create a new, more polite version btw).
Also, learning something from a comment and deleting it aren’t mutually exclusive.
If, hypothetically, I were to make a post asking a question and soliciting information, and then someone replied to my question-post with a comment that contained a large amount of exactly the sort of information I had asked for, but then, rather than thanking that person for taking the time out of their day to contribute their knowledge and helping me, and anyone else reading the post, to learn precisely the things I was ostensibly trying to learn, I instead chastised the respondent for some slightly abrasive language and demanded[1] that they take more time to go back and edit their post to conform to my exacting standards of politeness…
… well, I find this scenario embarrassing even to contemplate. I hope that I never display such a degree of intellectual arrogance and close-mindedness.
As for then deleting the response in question, that is so egregiously foolish, petulant, and petty that I can’t even imagine doing it. Are we to believe that because a highly informative comment contains a single mildly sarcastic remark, it would therefore be better that the members of Less Wrong not even be exposed to it? Or are you suggesting that OP read the comment, learned from it, and then deleted it because he had gotten all the value he could from it, and as for the rest of us, we can go hang?
Still, the comment wasn’t immediately removed and gwern did get the chance to change it (and still can create a new, more polite version btw).
Why in the world would gwern want to do this? Do you think that writing comments on OP’s posts is such a singular privilege that obviously gwern is going to take the time to carefully rewrite his comments to OP’s standards? Is there any reason, at all, why the response to this sort of treatment should be anything other than a shrug and walking away? Do you think that allowing gwern (or anyone else) to comment on his posts is a favor that OP is doing him?
Are we to believe that because a highly informative comment contains a single mildly sarcastic remark, it would therefore be better that the members of Less Wrong not even be exposed to it? Or are you suggesting that OP read the comment, learned from it, and then deleted it because he had gotten all the value he could from it, and as for the rest of us, we can go hang?
I hadn’t thought of it like this. You’re right, deleting the comment was a bad action.
Why in the world would gwern want to do this?
I would want to, or at least hope I would. Not that that is a reason why gwern should want it too, but it shines some light on why I think others may want to.
Do you think that allowing gwern (or anyone else) to comment on his posts is a favor that OP is doing him?
Good point. No, but kindness is still important. (Note I don’t think gwern was that unkind. I just think Alex had a point, and think your reaction to Alex was unfair.)
It seems we have reached partial agreement though; thank you for your time.
Don’t be a dick. As a moderator of my own post, I request that you change this to not be insulting.
This is an absurd moderation policy to use on a post which you wrote for the purpose of learning something. It strongly signals that you care much less about learning anything than you do about fussy politeness norms.
It isn’t absurd, and it doesn’t at all signal what you say it signals. Alex_Altair didn’t ask for the comment to be removed, but for it to be changed to something more kind. Learning something is important, kindness is as well.
Given that Alex not just asked, but in fact did remove gwern’s comment, it would seem that you’re mistaken. It turns out that learning something is not important to the OP, after all.
I should have checked that, I’ll admit. Still, the comment wasn’t immediately removed and gwern did get the chance to change it (and still can create a new, more polite version btw).
Also, learning something from a comment and deleting it aren’t mutually exclusive.
If, hypothetically, I were to make a post asking a question and soliciting information, and then someone replied to my question-post with a comment that contained a large amount of exactly the sort of information I had asked for, but then, rather than thanking that person for taking the time out of their day to contribute their knowledge and helping me, and anyone else reading the post, to learn precisely the things I was ostensibly trying to learn, I instead chastised the respondent for some slightly abrasive language and demanded[1] that they take more time to go back and edit their post to conform to my exacting standards of politeness…
… well, I find this scenario embarrassing even to contemplate. I hope that I never display such a degree of intellectual arrogance and close-mindedness.
As for then deleting the response in question, that is so egregiously foolish, petulant, and petty that I can’t even imagine doing it. Are we to believe that because a highly informative comment contains a single mildly sarcastic remark, it would therefore be better that the members of Less Wrong not even be exposed to it? Or are you suggesting that OP read the comment, learned from it, and then deleted it because he had gotten all the value he could from it, and as for the rest of us, we can go hang?
Why in the world would gwern want to do this? Do you think that writing comments on OP’s posts is such a singular privilege that obviously gwern is going to take the time to carefully rewrite his comments to OP’s standards? Is there any reason, at all, why the response to this sort of treatment should be anything other than a shrug and walking away? Do you think that allowing gwern (or anyone else) to comment on his posts is a favor that OP is doing him?
Phrasing the demand as a “request”, prior to enforcing said demand, does not actually make it a request—merely a lie as well.
I hadn’t thought of it like this. You’re right, deleting the comment was a bad action.
I would want to, or at least hope I would. Not that that is a reason why gwern should want it too, but it shines some light on why I think others may want to.
Good point. No, but kindness is still important. (Note I don’t think gwern was that unkind. I just think Alex had a point, and think your reaction to Alex was unfair.)
It seems we have reached partial agreement though; thank you for your time.