I've put in a couple of replies into this text box, and deleted them because I realized I was responding defensively. (Although it's clear to me that "the answer is obvious" is a rather underhanded way of calling me an idiot.)
But you're right I'm new here. The most charitable interpretation of the response I received is that the standard of discourse on this site is that I shouldn't discuss any topic until I have familiarized myself with the literature on that topic. I know that most of the discourse that I've seen so far on this site doesn't live up to this standard, and I think the character of my response has more to do with the subject matter ("cryonics") than the standard of my discourse.
That said, on reflection, I think this standard is a laudable thing. I know that scholarship is considered a virtue on this site. If some of the discussion on this site doesn't meet this standard, this doesn't excuse lowering the standard. Seeing people discuss a topic on this site that I'm not familiar with (even if I'm not particularly interested in cryonics) is a great excuse to learn something about that topic, if only to earn the right to partake in that discussion.
The most charitable interpretation of the response I received is that the standard of discourse on this site is that I shouldn't discuss any topic until I have familiarized myself with the literature on that topic.
This is still coming across as kind of defensive. Logically extrapolating from your assertion that most of the discourse on this site doesn't live up to the standard, it doesn't follow that cryonics should not be given a privileged status, e.g. as one of perhaps a select few topics where we insist on holding oneself to an ultra-high standard o...
So, apparently appsumo is having a custom reddit bundle, a bundle meant to appeal to redditors, and 10% of the proceeds get donated. On the surface, doesn't sound _that_ interesting, except...
Take a closer look: http://appsumo.com/reddit-special-deal/ and find that the recipient of the donations will be... SENS!
I find this to be an interesting development. It wasn't the "custom transhumanist bundle" or "the custom sens bundle" but "the custom reddit bundle". Yes, "reddit" doesn't, in and of itself, count as extremely mainstream as such, but I'd say it's still an interesting development.