timtyler comments on Is Google Paperclipping the Web? The Perils of Optimization by Proxy in Social Systems - Less Wrong

37 Post author: Alexandros 10 May 2010 01:25PM

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Comment author: timtyler 10 May 2010 08:54:12PM 4 points [-]

Yay! Congrats!

Not sure about "tl;dr", though!

Isn't that what I say when I skip your non-abstracted article...? ;-)

Comment author: Alexandros 10 May 2010 09:05:23PM 1 point [-]

Yeah, it would be, but I've also seen it used to the effect of 'abstract'. I've already added almost all features of an academic paper except for affiliation and references, I just can't bring myself to start the damn thing with "Abstract:"

Comment author: timtyler 10 May 2010 09:09:09PM *  5 points [-]

"tl;dr" seems very casual to me. If your readers are casual and you want them to treat your article casually, that may be appropriate.

Incidentally, if acronyming like that, it should read: "Optimization By Proxy (OBP)"

You can probably skip writing the word "Abstract" - if your first paragraph is isolated, in italics, and obviously starts out with a summary.

Comment author: anonym 11 May 2010 06:21:59AM 1 point [-]

YES! Readers shouldn't have to search back to the beginning the first time they see an acronym to figure out what it stands for. The abbreviation should always be explained the first time it is used.

Comment author: Nanani 12 May 2010 03:14:00AM 0 points [-]

Somehow I found the tl;dr impenetrable, but the actual article eminently readable. Is this deliberate?

Comment author: Alexandros 12 May 2010 08:08:50AM 0 points [-]

It's the best tl;dr I could muster. Probably because I'm too close to the content and have lost sight of what it's like to see it for the first time. If someone can help conjure up a better one, I'd gladly replace it.