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Vaniver comments on How To Lose 100 Karma In 6 Hours -- What Just Happened - Less Wrong
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Though, I can see a strong argument for "blow up whenever your rights are threatened," especially if you expect that you will only be able to raise awareness, not effect change. It also means those of us who internalized the sequences have our evaporative cooling alarms triggering. Is disagreeing with the existence of Langford basilisks, and caring enough to make a stink about it instead of just scoff, really enough to show someone the door?
It's true that the basilisk in question is a wild fantasy even by Singularitarian standards, and that people took it seriously enough to get upset about it, could well be considered cause for alarm.
But that's not why people are telling waitingforgodel they'd rather he left. People are telling him that because he took action he sincerely (perhaps wrongly, but sincerely) believed would reduce humanity's chances of survival. That's a lot crazier than believing in basilisks!
And the pity is, it's not true he couldn't effect change. The right thing to do in a scenario like this is propose reasonable compromises (like the idea of rot13'ing posts on topics people find upsetting) and if those fail then, with the moral high ground under your feet, find or create an alternative site for discussion of the banned topics. Not only would that be morally better than this nutty blackmail scheme, it would also be more effective.
This is a great example of the general rule that if you think you need to do something crazy or evil for the greater good, you are probably wrong -- keep looking for a better solution instead.
I am not entirely clear on the timeline- I haven't researched his precommitment and whether or not EY saw it- but at some point EY commented in his Mod Voice that undeleting comments was subject to banning, and so that is the part where most people seem to agree that wfg went crazy.
So it's not "wow, you're murdering people to make a point?" that started people saying "maybe you ought not be here," but it certainly is what made that idea catch on.
I agree with the desirability of this hypothetical. I have no data on the probability of this hypothetical.
No, WFG committed to that before I said anything in Mod Voice.
Clarification: I meant that his response to the Mod Voice comment was where he started losing supporters. (For example, here.)
No. Threatening to kill 6790 people and then claiming to actually gone through with it, however, is.