thomblake comments on LessWrong Boo Vote (Stochastic Downvoting) - Less Wrong

3 Post author: Vladimir_Nesov 22 April 2009 01:18AM

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Comment author: Alicorn 24 April 2009 05:46:17PM *  1 point [-]

I'm still making comments. And I value some strategies over others to get karma - I don't want it to go up for sheer volume and dumb luck. I'd rather make comments that come to mind as good things to say, not just type the unfiltered contents of my brain. (The unfiltered contents of my brain contain a lot more fiction references, inside jokes that are known only to my close personal friends, and musings about muffins and tofu and broccoli than anyone wants to read.) And I'd rather the good ones get voted up and the bad ones get informative replies - not freely dispensed downvotes - so I can adjust my behavior with more information than a brute negative number.

Also, as a counterexample, I took a karma hit for a number of comments on another thread - I remarked on it and they've all been compensated for, but if I hadn't said anything I imagine they'd have sat there indefinitely, because apparently the new "downvote freely" ethos hasn't made me paranoid enough.

Comment author: thomblake 24 April 2009 05:52:19PM 1 point [-]

so I can adjust my behavior with more information than a brute negative number.

For comparison, I prefer to comment the same way I would if nobody was voting on them. If the people here like my comments, then they'll float to the top. If my comments routinely got downvoted to oblivion, I'd probably post elsewhere instead.

In other words, I'm a big fan of the marketplace of ideas, but I don't have one in my own head.

Comment author: SoullessAutomaton 24 April 2009 09:31:31PM 0 points [-]

For comparison, I prefer to comment the same way I would if nobody was voting on them. If the people here like my comments, then they'll float to the top. If my comments routinely got downvoted to oblivion, I'd probably post elsewhere instead.

Insofar as voting is collective feedback from this community, it carries at least some informational value that one should value to the extent that one considers the average LW user to have intelligent, insightful opinions.

Comment deleted 24 April 2009 10:07:35PM *  [-]
Comment author: SoullessAutomaton 24 April 2009 11:48:41PM *  0 points [-]

It does. Perhaps the most significant value I get is in calibrating my expression. People here, who for most part are a relatively inferential distance from myself and relatively high in comprehension ability. When people here don't understand what I'm saying then chances are I'm leaving too many inferential steps implicit, expression myself inelegantly or conveying concepts too quickly and I need to adjust my communication.

In context, if these grammatical mistakes were intentional I tip my hat to you, sir. Well played.

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