Hi. I'm a frequent poster on the subreddit and DSL, and wrote a theological critique of Unsong that was well-received on the subreddit. There is one LessWrong poster whose comment history I check when I'm otherwise overwhelmed in real life: Said Achmiz.
Imagine my shock this morning to see “Three Missing Cakes, or One Turbulent Critic?” by Benquo on LessWrong, advocating against the moderators suggesting that banning Said Achmiz would attract a better audience.
Obviously, Said Achmiz is not going to be discouraged by being banned or expelled or getting a B or whatever. Not at all. He will just continue whatever he was doing somewhere else.
That said, it does hurt to be banned. I have been banned, expelled, and once got a B in Biology , and remembering these experiences still upsets me today. I don't wish to criticize Less Wrong either.
But as a consequentialist, I feel it is morally obligatory for me to stand up for him. Particularly since his blog post on why he isn't a utilitarian convinced me to become a consequentialist. (And to give up use of AI) He is a truth seeker, and I want there to be more truth seeking in the world, not less.
Said really seems like the poster -LessWrong poster would be like, on a billboard. He knows the history and politics of the community, has concrete value and skills to offer (like designing website), is epistemically perfectly consistent, demands clarifications, and never brings in unnecessary anecdotes about a child who is vegetarian so that our pet chickens won't be scared of them eating their family, except for eating meatballs.
Less Wrong is full of impressive thinkers saying important things correctly; they do not need my chatty, jargon-free, stay at home mother style. They do need someone who checks for accuracy. As Said frequently recommends, I have read most of the Sequences, but he is an expert in them and read them as they were coming out. Not only that, everything he writes is in full paragraphs and