David, let's assume for the sake of argument that my comment was rude. Do you think rudeness as such is a valid reason for downvoting? Personally, when giving or withdrawing karma here at LW I try to focus on the relevance, importance, clarity and truth-content of comments and posts, disregarding how 'nice' or 'rude' the user appears to be. In any case, I try not to be rude in discussion because I know that even those who share my policy generally need to make an extra effort to overcome the initial dislike they experience in the presence of a rude commenter.
I object to your characterization of my reaction as based on meat not being the food I "personally prefer". Meat is rather the food that I believe is wrong to eat.
Do you think rudeness as such is a valid reason for downvoting?
Yes. Enough by itself? Well, as you point out several things go into whether or not a comment gets voted up or down. But rudeness is definitely in the "down" column. Add in one or two more ingredients, and you get -7.
There's a Less Wrong meetup at my house in Berkeley this Saturday, the 25th of December, at 6PM. Celebrate the winter season, the Solstice, and the birth of Sir Isaac Newton among friendly aspiring rationalists, including Eliezer and other SIAI staff and volunteers.
I will cook for everyone in the style I call "paleolithic gourmet" which is cooked meat and raw produce.
I'd like to satisfy everyone's preferences as reasonably as I possibly can without getting vastly more food than will be eaten.
Default menu:
Steak
Lamb Burgers
Bacon
Salad of Berkeley Bowl produce and parmesan
Grilled Portabello and chanterelle mushrooms
Cheese selection
Pita + hummus
Cookies
Feel free to bring a potluck dessert or if you like, an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage.
The food is free, but if you can afford to, in the spirit of Newtonmas, I suggest a $10 or $15 or $500 donation to SIAI (which will be matched). Please don't not come because you prefer not to pay; no one will be excluded from food or shunned for not paying. I really mean that. Consider the donation not an admission fee and more of a gentle nudge and reminder that optimal philanthropy starts around $10 and that you should positively associate giving money with the fuzzies of eating delicious food.
Please post here if you plan on attending and RSVP on Facebook. You can also post here or PM me with your thoughts on the menu and tell me what you want to eat the most of. I wasn't planning on cooking fish or chicken but can do so if people let me know they want fish or chicken or something else (like a carbohydrate).
My address is 1622 Martin Luther King Jr Way Apt A, Berkeley CA. It's the ground floor apartment around the side, not the upstairs one.