I think the percentage of “casual” users who participate on this site because they enjoy intelligent conversations on rationality-related topics while having no FAI agenda is non-negligible.
I think they’re a majority, and that’s the problem. There’s a social norm that tolerates doing nothing about the most important problem humanity has ever faced.
It may be a net negative even if LW’s mission is FAI activism as there are positive externalities of greater diversity of both discussion topics and participant opinions (less boredom, more new ideas, better critical scrutiny of ideas, less danger of community evaporative cooling, greater ability to attract new readers...)
Charging a fee to comment is not the same as banning non-FAI topics. I agree that discussion of other topics can provide instrumental value to the SIAI.
I think they’re a majority, and that’s the problem. There’s a social norm that tolerates doing nothing about the most important problem humanity has ever faced.
Charging a fee to comment is not the same as banning non-FAI topics. I agree that discussion of other topics can provide instrumental value to the SIAI.