This behavior is particularly insidious because it is self-reinforcing
As I understand your post, the behavior you mean is talking about rationality without putting it into practice. But the way it is written sound to me like you mean accusing LW oftalking about rationality without putting it into practice.
A recent attempt to counter this trend or at least make us feel better about it was a series of discussions on "leveling up": [...] stands in stark contrast to articles emphasizing practical altruism such as "efficient charity"
Instead of "leveling up" you could have taken "efficient charity" as an example. I think you like that article better, so it seems more honest to me to take it as an example of a more practical post. Mentioning both articles like that makes it too obvious that you singled out "leveling up" for rhetoric reasons.
So what's the solution? I don't know. However I can tell you a few things about the solution, whatever it may be:
I'm very skeptical about those following points. You did not give convincing arguments for them.
Whatever you may decide to do, be sure it follows these principles. If none of your plans align with these guidelines then construct a new one, on the spot, immediately
That seems like bad advice. I think your guidelines are advocating reversed stupidity.
I declare Crocker's rules on the writing style of this post.
I think you are doing it wrong. Declaring Crocker's rule allows others to be harsh to you, it doesn't allow you to be harsh to others.
I think you are doing it wrong.
My reading of TwistingFingers's words was that s/he did mean "please feel free to be harsh about me", not "I wish to be free to be harsh about others". I don't see what other interpretation is possible, given "on the writing style of this post".
LessWrongers as a group are often accused of talking about rationality without putting it into practice (for an elaborated discussion of this see Self-Improvement or Shiny Distraction: Why Less Wrong is anti-Instrumental Rationality). This behavior is particularly insidious because it is self-reinforcing: it will attract more armchair rationalists to LessWrong who will in turn reinforce the trend in an affective death spiral until LessWrong is a community of utilitarian apologists akin to the internet communities of anorexics who congratulate each other on their weight loss. It will be a community where instead of discussing practical ways to "overcome bias" (the original intent of the sequences) we discuss arcane decision theories, who gets to be in our CEV, and the most rational birthday presents (sound familiar?).
A recent attempt to counter this trend or at least make us feel better about it was a series of discussions on "leveling up": accomplishing a set of practical well-defined goals to increment your rationalist "level". It's hard to see how these goals fit into a long-term plan to achieve anything besides self-improvement for its own sake. Indeed, the article begins by priming us with a renaissance-man inspired quote and stands in stark contrast to articles emphasizing practical altruism such as "efficient charity"
So what's the solution? I don't know. However I can tell you a few things about the solution, whatever it may be:
Whatever you may decide to do, be sure it follows these principles. If none of your plans align with these guidelines then construct a new one, on the spot, immediately. Just do something: every moment you sit hundreds of thousands are dying and billions are suffering. Under your judgement your plan can self-modify in the future to overcome its flaws. Become an optimization process; shut up and calculate.
I declare Crocker's rules on the writing style of this post.