I’m curious now about this community’s perceptions of a person A’s requests for a person B not to reply to A’s comments. (Note: I’m using letters A and B because this isn’t about the particular situation or the individuals in question, and I don’t want the individuals’ identities to distract from the issue here.)
I posted a comment stating that it wasn’t reasonable to ask someone not to reply, which got downvoted. I’m assuming this got downvoted because people disagree.
One person replied stating that A’s original request was not to avoid replying to any of A’s comments, but to stop making comments that specifically single A out. However, this was not B’s interpretation of the request. B seems to think, possibly incorrectly, that A asked B not to reply to any of A’s comments on LW.
For people who think this is a reasonable request, here’s a hypothetical: suppose C and D are enrolled in a philosophy class together. C and D have an unpleasant interaction, and C requests that D not raise her hand in class and participate in class discussion after C has made a comment. Do people agree that this would be an unreasonable request, unlike, say, “please don’t call or email me”? If so, why is a request to not reply to someone’s LW comments substantially different?
suppose C and D are enrolled in a philosophy class together. C and D have an unpleasant interaction, and C requests that D not raise her hand in class and participate in class discussion after C has made a comment. Do people agree that this would be an unreasonable request
It depends on whether D’s intention in responding to a comment of C is to contribute to the class discussion or to needle C.
In a classroom setting, the right to ask people to leave or to not participate is reserved exlusively for the professor; a student could not ask another student to shut up without the teacher’s express consent. On a blog, however, no such authority exists, so anyone can make such requests—but only in response to breaking certain social norms without a good excuse.
Well, blogs do have administrators, who hold a similar authority. I believe Eliezer has banned several people from LW for making only poor quality or trollish posts, for instance.
anyone can make such requests—but only in response to breaking certain social norms without a good excuse.
Well, yes, anyone can make such requests, just like I can request that LW commentors refrain from using the word “the” because I find it incredibly offensive. The point is that it isn’t a reasonable request. If someone’s violated enough of the community norms to be banned, that’s a matter for the administrator, but that’s different than an individual requesting “please don’t reply to my comments in a public discussion forum” as if it were comparable to “please don’t email or call me.”
I’m curious now about this community’s perceptions of a person A’s requests for a person B not to reply to A’s comments. (Note: I’m using letters A and B because this isn’t about the particular situation or the individuals in question, and I don’t want the individuals’ identities to distract from the issue here.)
I posted a comment stating that it wasn’t reasonable to ask someone not to reply, which got downvoted. I’m assuming this got downvoted because people disagree.
One person replied stating that A’s original request was not to avoid replying to any of A’s comments, but to stop making comments that specifically single A out. However, this was not B’s interpretation of the request. B seems to think, possibly incorrectly, that A asked B not to reply to any of A’s comments on LW.
For people who think this is a reasonable request, here’s a hypothetical: suppose C and D are enrolled in a philosophy class together. C and D have an unpleasant interaction, and C requests that D not raise her hand in class and participate in class discussion after C has made a comment. Do people agree that this would be an unreasonable request, unlike, say, “please don’t call or email me”? If so, why is a request to not reply to someone’s LW comments substantially different?
It depends on whether D’s intention in responding to a comment of C is to contribute to the class discussion or to needle C.
No, the request we’re talking about is “don’t comment at all in reply to my comments.”
Edited to fix link.
ETA: Also see here
In a classroom setting, the right to ask people to leave or to not participate is reserved exlusively for the professor; a student could not ask another student to shut up without the teacher’s express consent. On a blog, however, no such authority exists, so anyone can make such requests—but only in response to breaking certain social norms without a good excuse.
Well, blogs do have administrators, who hold a similar authority. I believe Eliezer has banned several people from LW for making only poor quality or trollish posts, for instance.
Well, yes, anyone can make such requests, just like I can request that LW commentors refrain from using the word “the” because I find it incredibly offensive. The point is that it isn’t a reasonable request. If someone’s violated enough of the community norms to be banned, that’s a matter for the administrator, but that’s different than an individual requesting “please don’t reply to my comments in a public discussion forum” as if it were comparable to “please don’t email or call me.”