Will Newsome earned his karma, and he is now entitled to spend it as he pleases. Any interference with that right would be dishonorable, a moral breach of contractual obligation. Libeling him as a SuperTroll is scarcely better; posting provocative comments does not make a troll simply because it’s mildly annoying. A malicious or disruptive intent in required, and that’s patently absent.
[A few months ago, Will Newsome corrected E.Y.’s definition of “troll”; E.Y. called one Loosemore a troll on account of the latter’s being a liar (which he was even less than a troll). Correcting E.Y. turned Will Newsome into something of an overnight authority on the definition of “troll.” This is unfortunate, since Will’s understanding shows itself a bit defective when it faces sterner tests than Loosemore. Newsome is more trollish than Loosemore, but Newsome is no troll.)
I strongly disagree. As far as I am aware, there is no contract between Will Newsome and LessWrong/the SI/FHI/CFAR that states that he is entitled to do whatever he likes. In fact, per community norms, the opposite is true. The claim that he is a SuperTroll seems to be self-evidently true, and is almost certainly not libel, as Will Newsome has done his best to encourage the idea that he is a troll, and possibly even began this view. (Consent is usually considered a defense against libel.) Newsome also seems to have disruptive intent- he’s explicitly stated that he’s trying to burn his credibility as fast as possible. So, the mods have fairly solid reasons for moving against him- at present rates, it’ll take ~27 months for him to burn through the rest of his karma, which is far too long.
Will Newsome earned his karma, and he is now entitled to spend it as he pleases. Any interference with that right would be dishonorable, a moral breach of contractual obligation. Libeling him as a SuperTroll is scarcely better; posting provocative comments does not make a troll simply because it’s mildly annoying. A malicious or disruptive intent in required, and that’s patently absent.
[A few months ago, Will Newsome corrected E.Y.’s definition of “troll”; E.Y. called one Loosemore a troll on account of the latter’s being a liar (which he was even less than a troll). Correcting E.Y. turned Will Newsome into something of an overnight authority on the definition of “troll.” This is unfortunate, since Will’s understanding shows itself a bit defective when it faces sterner tests than Loosemore. Newsome is more trollish than Loosemore, but Newsome is no troll.)
I strongly disagree. As far as I am aware, there is no contract between Will Newsome and LessWrong/the SI/FHI/CFAR that states that he is entitled to do whatever he likes. In fact, per community norms, the opposite is true. The claim that he is a SuperTroll seems to be self-evidently true, and is almost certainly not libel, as Will Newsome has done his best to encourage the idea that he is a troll, and possibly even began this view. (Consent is usually considered a defense against libel.) Newsome also seems to have disruptive intent- he’s explicitly stated that he’s trying to burn his credibility as fast as possible. So, the mods have fairly solid reasons for moving against him- at present rates, it’ll take ~27 months for him to burn through the rest of his karma, which is far too long.