This line of thinking links up (in my mind) with something slightly different that I’ve thought about before, which is how do you create a community where people aren’t afraid to be themselves, risk saying wrong things, and are willing to listen to others. I think there is some convergence with the signaling concern, because there much of signaling can come from trying to present a view to others that signals something that might not quite be true or authentic, or even if it is true emphasizes certain things more than others differently than the poster naturally would, creating a kind of mask or facade where the focus is on signaling well rather than being oneself, saying wrong things, etc..
I think the solution is generally what I would call “safety” or “psychological safety”: people often feel unsafe in a wide variety of situations, don’t always realize they have deep, hidden fear powering their actions, and don’t know how to ask for more safety without risking giving up the little bit they are already creating for themselves by signaling, being defensive, and otherwise not being themselves to protect themselves from threats real or merely perceived.
I’ve seen the amazing benefits of creating safety in organizations and the kind of collaboration and happiness it can enable, but I’m less sure about how to do it in a large, online community. I like this kind of exploration of potential mechanism for, as I think of it, creating enough safety to enable doing the things we really care about (being heard, collaborating, feeling happy to talk to others about our ideas, etc.).
This line of thinking links up (in my mind) with something slightly different that I’ve thought about before, which is how do you create a community where people aren’t afraid to be themselves, risk saying wrong things, and are willing to listen to others. I think there is some convergence with the signaling concern, because there much of signaling can come from trying to present a view to others that signals something that might not quite be true or authentic, or even if it is true emphasizes certain things more than others differently than the poster naturally would, creating a kind of mask or facade where the focus is on signaling well rather than being oneself, saying wrong things, etc..
I think the solution is generally what I would call “safety” or “psychological safety”: people often feel unsafe in a wide variety of situations, don’t always realize they have deep, hidden fear powering their actions, and don’t know how to ask for more safety without risking giving up the little bit they are already creating for themselves by signaling, being defensive, and otherwise not being themselves to protect themselves from threats real or merely perceived.
I’ve seen the amazing benefits of creating safety in organizations and the kind of collaboration and happiness it can enable, but I’m less sure about how to do it in a large, online community. I like this kind of exploration of potential mechanism for, as I think of it, creating enough safety to enable doing the things we really care about (being heard, collaborating, feeling happy to talk to others about our ideas, etc.).