Nevertheless, the fact remains that posts like this really aren't, strictly speaking, on-topic for this blog.

I realize that it says "a community blog devoted to refining the art of human rationality" at the top of every page here, but it often seems that people here are interested in "a community blog for topics which people who are devoted to refining the art of human rationality are interested in," which is not really in conflict at all with (what I presume is) LW's mission of fostering the growth of a rationality community.

The alternative is that LWers who want to discuss "off-topic" issues have to find (and most likely create) a new medium for conversation, which would only serve to splinter the community.

(A good solution is maybe dividing LW into two sub-sites: Less Wrong, for the purist posts on rationality, and Less Less Wrong, for casual ("off-topic") discussion of rationality.)