Rules
Comments that do no follow the rules will be deleted. Users who consistently do not follow the rules will be banned.
- Be Kind. No name calling / bullying / etc. Engage with someone’s argument. Do not attack them personally.
- Be Thoughtful. If you are unwilling to spend a few minutes thinking about what you are saying, then it is probably not worth being said.
- Be Sincere. Present your position honestly, not in a way that you think will achieve a desired effect.
- One Year Ban on Politics. Any reference to something political must have occurred at least one year in the past. While history is useful for understanding the present and planning for the future, I do not care about the daily horse race or ‘she said’ – ‘he said’ version of politics. If it is not worth remembering a year later, it is not worth serious conversation. Similarly, arguments about policy are allowed, but arguments about individual politicians are not. Discussion of new science is, of course, permitted.
Recommendations
I hope we can elevate our conversations.
- Be Open. Be willing to change your mind if you encounter new evidence or argument. But do not assume that people will change their mind just because you find something convincing. Even when someone is open to new ideas, changing a mind is hard.
- Cite Your Sources. [1] Whether it is a peer reviewed article, something random you read, or a conversation with someone in person, it is worthwhile to give credit to the sources of our ideas.
[1] This is my preferred way of doing footnotes if there is no built in feature. - Steelman, Don’t Strawman. Strawmanning is attacking the weakest version of an argument so you can WIN. Steelmanning is engaging with the strongest version of an argument to see if you can learn something from it. If you do win against a steelman argument, your victory will be much more convincing.
- Make and Check Predictions. If you think you know something about the world, say it, and say how confident you are. Then keep track of your predictions and check them, so you can see where your knowledge is accurate and where you can improve.
There rules and recommendations are both promises from me and expectations for you. I intend to follow them in my writings. You should do the same.