Open thread, Dec. 26, 2016 - Jan. 1, 2017

username2

If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post, then it goes here.

Notes for future OT posters:

1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.

2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)

3. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.

4. Unflag the two options "Notify me of new top level comments on this article" and "Make this post available under..." before submitting.

If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post, then it goes here.

Notes for future OT posters:

1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.

2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)

3. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.

4. Unflag the two options "Notify me of new top level comments on this article" and "Make this post available under..." before submitting.

Meta-question: I'm a longtime lurker who just made an account under his real name.

How badly am I fucking up by doing so? Should I nuke it from orbit and start over with a pseudonym?

Imagine that two years in the future someone decides to manufacture a controversy in media, where the LW website and/or the rationalist community will be accused of horrible things. When the fake news get out, other media start copying it blindly, and after too many people jumped on the bandwagon, no one will want to admit they actually made a mistake.

The whole Twitter will shake with rage, users demanding the worst punishments for anyone associated with LW.

Imagine yourself on that day, thinking about today -- will you wish you would have done something differently?

0ChristianKl10y

It depends whether you think you will post things that will produce problems if someone who googles your name find the posts. On the other hand a person who finds what you post might also want to talk to you about it when they meet you in meatspace. It's more likely that you get offered a job because a person thinks you have demonstrated the required experience by reading your posts when you use your real name.

4Dagon10y

I prefer to keep my work, family, gaming, and online-discussion identities rather distinct. I don't knowingly post things that would reflect badly on me (I do sometimes take contrarian-advocacy positions, but I do so at work too), and I tend not to play games with strangers who'd be tempted to retaliate outside the game, but it still adds a bit of comfort to not mix them up. Whether you want to do the same is entirely up to you. Less Wrong, in fact, could have positive reputation effects on other aspects of your life. More likely completely neutral, but unlike some other sites, it's less likely to be pure negative.