The profusion of upvotes did make me feel a bit odd, as though I'd wandered into a discussion with a tone of politics and random applause instead of collaborative thinking as I'm used to.

But discussion here has nevertheless been a lot better than discussion on such mind-killing topics usually is (a testament both to LW and to EY's careful post). And I agree with mattnewport's point about erring on the side of being welcoming, especially for those who said they are nervous and new.