This response is such a strawman! No one’s arguing that “the right to conduct sexual activities in any way without being judged” is a “sacred value” that “overrides any consequentialist concern for actually producing more effective rationalists.” If every other post by Eliezer made specific, detailed reference to his dalmatian fetish, or if SIAI had a specific section of their website listing the fetishes and relationship styles of all their members, then yes, that would likely be problematic—because it would be seriously, actually distracting from important rationality work.
But that situation is miles away from one person’s private dating profile listing some relatively harmless fetishes that only surprise people because we don’t usually talk about that sort of thing publicly. There’s just no reason to think that this is the serious concern you’re making it out to be. Frankly, I’d say that posting and arguing about it here is likely to do (or has already done) more damage than the profile on its own was capable of. Seriously, look at the comments and the downvotes you’re getting, and consider that maybe this isn’t a productive fight to be having. Just let it go.
This response is such a strawman! No one’s arguing that “the right to conduct sexual activities in any way without being judged” is a “sacred value” that “overrides any consequentialist concern for actually producing more effective rationalists.” If every other post by Eliezer made specific, detailed reference to his dalmatian fetish, or if SIAI had a specific section of their website listing the fetishes and relationship styles of all their members, then yes, that would likely be problematic—because it would be seriously, actually distracting from important rationality work.
But that situation is miles away from one person’s private dating profile listing some relatively harmless fetishes that only surprise people because we don’t usually talk about that sort of thing publicly. There’s just no reason to think that this is the serious concern you’re making it out to be. Frankly, I’d say that posting and arguing about it here is likely to do (or has already done) more damage than the profile on its own was capable of. Seriously, look at the comments and the downvotes you’re getting, and consider that maybe this isn’t a productive fight to be having. Just let it go.