RobertLumley comments on I can't see comments anymore -- what was recently changed? - Less Wrong

7 Post author: SilasBarta 05 August 2011 04:16PM

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Comment author: RobertLumley 05 August 2011 05:52:12PM *  1 point [-]

Sarcastic responses aren't generally very productive. (I may be misreading this, but I don't think I am.)

And you're leaping to the conclusion that it's something on LW's end. I'd be surprised if anything changed at all - it seems more likely to me that something changed on your end without your knowledge, in terms of the security settings at your work.

Furthermore, information on other browsers is relevant. P(Site issue|Broken on other browsers) > P(Site issue|Not broken on other browsers).

Comment author: SilasBarta 05 August 2011 06:05:30PM 0 points [-]

I didn't leap to conclusions: I noted that the site worked fine on IE7 until very recently, which suggests that IE7 is not the problem. It's a datapoint that you still don't seem to have accounted for, considering that you're taking its performance on other browsers to be relevant to the matter of why LW stopped working at a specific time on (at least) one browser.

(Note: as I am involved in this exchange, I'm not modding down anyone's comments, including yours.)

Comment author: RobertLumley 05 August 2011 06:11:03PM *  0 points [-]

And if you're not downvoting my posts (and this isn't meant as an accusation of lying) I'd like to know why other people are, I don't see anything fallacious about them.

Edit: Perhaps it's because I started writing a sentence, went off to write something else, and forgot to come back and finish it. I'll go change that. :-)

Comment author: FAWS 05 August 2011 07:11:41PM 2 points [-]

I voted some of your comments down (as well as some of Silas') because you seemed unnecessarily confrontational, and to a lesser extent because I disagree with your priors.

Comment author: RobertLumley 05 August 2011 07:26:55PM *  1 point [-]

Ah, thanks for explaining. I don't feel I was especially confrontational though, especially given Silas's tone. Could you point out what made you feel that way?

Comment author: FAWS 05 August 2011 09:01:07PM *  1 point [-]

Nothing that would stand out as confrontational on its own, but things like describing him as "leaping to a conclusion" that add up.

As for Silas' tone:

  1. Since he is an (albeit high functioning) autist I'm willing to give him the benefit of doubt to some extent.
  2. Even though I don't think anyone was attacking him as such I can understand why he felt attacked.
  3. As I stated I did vote several of his comments down.
Comment author: SilasBarta 05 August 2011 06:13:19PM *  -1 points [-]

No, for the time being you should probably stick with the hypothesis that it was because you were writing Nesov-style unhelpful comments.

Comment author: RobertLumley 05 August 2011 06:17:49PM -1 points [-]

No, for the time being, I'll develop my own hypotheses, and not be told what to think.

But you're just being rude at this point. I started out posting what information I had, in an attempt to be helpful. As Nesov did. And now you're just insulting both of us. I have no intention of continuing this further.

Comment author: Vladimir_Nesov 05 August 2011 06:28:42PM *  7 points [-]

Robert, comments like this make a step in the wrong direction, they engage on emotional level, rather than trying to understand what's going on, they don't break the usual pattern, and so encourage following it further. Silas is allowing his emotions to make steps in the conversation in a way that distracts from its topic, and now you do too. It's better if at least someone in a discussion doesn't do that, and it's much, much better if nobody does that.

Comment author: RobertLumley 05 August 2011 06:30:17PM 3 points [-]

You're right. In re-reading my comment, it wasn't helpful. I have a tendency to engage on an emotional level when I am engaged in such a manner.

Comment author: RobertLumley 05 August 2011 06:07:49PM *  1 point [-]

Well obviously IE7 didn't change - I'm not suggesting that it did. But it's possible that something changed with the security settings on your work computer(s), which would cause strange things. Maybe security software was added to the computers or something.

Comment author: SilasBarta 05 August 2011 06:11:41PM 2 points [-]

Sure, and it's possible something in LW's software or dependencies changed. Both are low-probability. I'm seeking answers on my end. I'm also asking here if there were any changes on this end so that I can distinguish which one is more likely.

You have no evidence to offer that would favor one possibility over another, and yet you post anyway, and rather confidently. Why?

Comment author: RobertLumley 05 August 2011 06:15:24PM *  2 points [-]

Well, as I've said, my prior for p(site issue) is fairly low. Especially given that several other people have suggested (in other browsers) that they're seeing things fine. And I don't mean to imply certainty. You're correct - the only evidence I have is what has been posted in the comments here. I'm just trying to propose an alternative hypothesis, that you hadn't seemed to consider. If you had, then I apologize for the redundancy, but you made no mention of this possibility in your OP.

Comment author: SilasBarta 05 August 2011 06:20:13PM 0 points [-]

Especially given that several other people have suggested that they're seeing things fine.

Really? Who mentioned seeing the comments just fine in IE7 over the past few days, rather than yesterday but not today?

I'm just trying to propose an alternative hypothesis, that you hadn't seemed to consider.

More accurately, you're telling me your priors. I'm interested in likelihood ratios though, and you had nothing to offer on that front.

Comment author: RobertLumley 05 August 2011 06:26:54PM 1 point [-]

Really? Who mentioned seeing the comments just fine in IE7 over the past few days, rather than yesterday but not today?

Other people have said they're seeing things fine in other browsers. Sorry. Edited for clarity.

More accurately, you're telling me your priors. I'm interested in likelihood ratios though, and you had nothing to offer on that front.

The two are not mutually exclusive. And both are relevant.

Comment author: SilasBarta 05 August 2011 06:31:54PM 0 points [-]

Other people have said they're seeing things fine in other browsers. Sorry. Edited for clarity.

No need. The point is, the fact that other people see things fine in other browsers (which, btw, I already knew) does not help to establish why IE7 previously worked but recently stopped, nor suggest that nothing changed on LW's end.

The two are not mutually exclusive. And both are relevant.

No, likelihood ratios are the only concern for a Bayesian, unless I have a particular reason to put credence in your priors.

Comment author: RobertLumley 05 August 2011 06:42:27PM 2 points [-]

the fact that other people see things fine in other browsers (which, btw, I already knew) does not help to establish why IE7 previously worked but recently stopped, nor suggest that nothing changed on LW's end.

In fact, it does. Unless you're suggesting that compatibility with IE7 and other browsers is statistically independent, p(site problem | no problem in other browsers) < p(site problem | problem in other browsers). It may not be strong evidence, but it is evidence. Although, at this point, it's moot, since your bug has been duplicated.

No, likelihood ratios are the only concern for a Bayesian, unless I have a particular reason to put credence in your priors.

I didn't say they were relevant to the question asked, but they were relevant given the context in which they were mentioned.