Why not make a top-level post or two that you can just link back to occasionally? This would also help to avoid derailing new comment threads, as discussion could take place at said posts.
I tried that a while ago, but the results were disappointing enough that in the meantime I’ve grown somewhat embarrassed by that post. (Disappointing both in terms of the lack of interesting feedback and the ruckus occasioned by some concrete examples that touched on controversial topics, which I avoided with less scrupulousness back then.) For whatever reason, insofar as I get interesting feedback here, it looks like I get more of it per unit of effort when I stick to run-of-the-mill commenting than if I were to invest effort in quality top-level posts. (I don’t think this is a general rule for all posters here, though.)
The post has 63 upvotes and has been repeatedly linked to. Talking about controversial hypotheses in the hypothetical and presenting them by citation/quotation seem like manageable ways to reduce some of those downsides.
I’m not complaining about a lack of upvotes and links, but about the lack of responses that leave me with more insight than I started with, and also a general lack of understanding of the nature and relevance of the problems I’m trying to discuss. I’d rather have a comment buried deep in some obscure subthread with zero upvotes, which however occasions a single insightful response, than a top-level post upvoted to +200 and admiringly linked from all over the internet, which however leaves me with no significant advance in insight (and possibly only reinforces my biases with the positive attention).
(Not that I’m always optimizing for feedback, of course—sometimes I just fall prey to the “someone is wrong on the internet” syndrome. But, for whatever reason, as embarrassing as such episodes may be, they fill me with less dissatisfaction in retrospect than failures of systematic and planned effort.)
It’s hard to tell, but if they have been influenced by that post, then considering the lack of adequate reception of the post in the first place, this probably didn’t improve their understanding of my comments, and has perhaps even worsened it.
Also, I don’t claim to be anywhere near the ideal of optimizing for feedback in practice. After all, “When vanity is not prompting us, we have little to say.” But I would certainly change my posting patterns if I were convinced that it would improve feedback.
I also don’t think that low returns from top-level posts are a general rule—it’s probably mainly due to my lack of writing skills (particularly in English) that results in more readable and cogent writing when I’m confined to the shorter space and pre-established context of a comment.
(Although, on the other hand, one general problem is the lack of any clear and agreed-upon policy for what is on-topic for LW, which makes me, and I suspect also many other people, reluctant to start discussions about some topics, but ready to follow up when others have already opened them and found a positive reception.)
For whatever reason, insofar as I get interesting feedback here, it looks like I get more of it per unit of effort when I stick to run-of-the-mill commenting than if I were to invest effort in quality top-level posts. (I don’t think this is a general rule for all posters here, though.)
What about comments that are basically article length posted in the open thread? I’ve found them a useful place to write drafts and have had some interesting commentary on them.
Also I would say you are heavily underestimating just how useful it is to other LWers to have a well thought out article on a certain subject available for future reference, even if the comment section isn’t that great.
Why not make a top-level post or two that you can just link back to occasionally? This would also help to avoid derailing new comment threads, as discussion could take place at said posts.
I tried that a while ago, but the results were disappointing enough that in the meantime I’ve grown somewhat embarrassed by that post. (Disappointing both in terms of the lack of interesting feedback and the ruckus occasioned by some concrete examples that touched on controversial topics, which I avoided with less scrupulousness back then.) For whatever reason, insofar as I get interesting feedback here, it looks like I get more of it per unit of effort when I stick to run-of-the-mill commenting than if I were to invest effort in quality top-level posts. (I don’t think this is a general rule for all posters here, though.)
The post has 63 upvotes and has been repeatedly linked to. Talking about controversial hypotheses in the hypothetical and presenting them by citation/quotation seem like manageable ways to reduce some of those downsides.
I’m not complaining about a lack of upvotes and links, but about the lack of responses that leave me with more insight than I started with, and also a general lack of understanding of the nature and relevance of the problems I’m trying to discuss. I’d rather have a comment buried deep in some obscure subthread with zero upvotes, which however occasions a single insightful response, than a top-level post upvoted to +200 and admiringly linked from all over the internet, which however leaves me with no significant advance in insight (and possibly only reinforces my biases with the positive attention).
(Not that I’m always optimizing for feedback, of course—sometimes I just fall prey to the “someone is wrong on the internet” syndrome. But, for whatever reason, as embarrassing as such episodes may be, they fill me with less dissatisfaction in retrospect than failures of systematic and planned effort.)
Even within the pure feedback-egoist framework (really?) do you think people haven’t had that post in mind in later discussions with you?
It’s hard to tell, but if they have been influenced by that post, then considering the lack of adequate reception of the post in the first place, this probably didn’t improve their understanding of my comments, and has perhaps even worsened it.
Also, I don’t claim to be anywhere near the ideal of optimizing for feedback in practice. After all, “When vanity is not prompting us, we have little to say.” But I would certainly change my posting patterns if I were convinced that it would improve feedback.
I also don’t think that low returns from top-level posts are a general rule—it’s probably mainly due to my lack of writing skills (particularly in English) that results in more readable and cogent writing when I’m confined to the shorter space and pre-established context of a comment.
(Although, on the other hand, one general problem is the lack of any clear and agreed-upon policy for what is on-topic for LW, which makes me, and I suspect also many other people, reluctant to start discussions about some topics, but ready to follow up when others have already opened them and found a positive reception.)
What about comments that are basically article length posted in the open thread? I’ve found them a useful place to write drafts and have had some interesting commentary on them.
Also I would say you are heavily underestimating just how useful it is to other LWers to have a well thought out article on a certain subject available for future reference, even if the comment section isn’t that great.