Oligopsony comments on A Kick in the Rationals: What hurts you in your LessWrong Parts? - Less Wrong Discussion
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Comments (194)
I'd look at what you would have spent your time doing otherwise before you necessarily say (you didn't, but implied) that was a waste of time. Even if exactly 1 person read it (the one who deleted it), you got practice expressing yourself and (hopefully) coherently forming an argument.
Horrible lurching realisation: over the past couple of years, I've avoided unproductive online arguments. This has made me happier. I've also felt, over the past 18 months or so, that my general argument-forming faculties have gotten a little bit shoddy.
This is worrying.
So long as your truth-discovering faculties are getting enough exercise, that seems like a fair trade.
Since reading Lesswrong, I try to argue more. But not to win, rather, from the point of view that I am trying to understand how they think and to modify how they think. Lesswrong has allowed me to concede points that I don't agree with, because I know that I can't change their mind yet. It's fun.
My experience tends to be in line with yours.