I think some of it comes down to the range of arguments offered. For example, posted alone, I would not have found Objection 2 particularly compelling, but I was impressed by many other points and in particular the discussion of organizational capacity. I'm sure there are others for whom those evaluations were completely reversed. Nonetheless, we all voted it up. Many of us who did so likely agree with one another less than we do with SIAI, but that has only showed up here and there on this thread.

Critically, it was all presented, not in the context of an inside argument, but in the context of "is SI an effective organization in terms of its stated goals." The question posed to each of us was: do you believe in SI's mission and, if so, do you think that donating to SI is an effective way to achieve that goal? It is a wonderful instantiation of the standard test of belief, "how much are you willing to bet on it?"