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JoshElders comments on Open Thread, October 7 - October 12, 2013 - Less Wrong Discussion

5 Post author: Thomas 07 October 2013 02:52PM

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Comment author: JoshElders 11 October 2013 08:01:23PM 0 points [-]

Well, if any of those 5 or more people who upvoted this think it's interesting enough to kick it up the chain rather than erasing the issue, you'll have to be the ones to do it. I couldn't even if I wanted to with my current karma ranking, and I don't really have the standing to, being a new member and being a member of the taboo group.

The community could end up deciding that it is a taboo topic, that's the way it is, end of story. Or perhaps there is fear that it could create a damaging controversy that would hurt the community? Or various other things that I can't predict.

But something feels wrong with a conclusion that "A public discussion about whether it's OK to talk about celibate pedophilia is taboo".

Comment author: Dentin 13 October 2013 09:14:09AM 3 points [-]

I'd rather it be erased. The potential for social 'splash damage' to LW is high, and the gain is very low (or possibly negative.) Further, I believe that your agenda is to push this topic to your preferred conclusion, not to use it as an example which can aid in the core mission of LW.

Comment author: Viliam_Bur 13 October 2013 02:48:16PM 1 point [-]

But something feels wrong with a conclusion that "A public discussion about whether it's OK to talk about celibate pedophilia is taboo".

First, this is kind of misleading. The question is not whether it's "OK to talk about celibate pedophilia", but rather whether LessWrong is the proper place for this discussion. I am okay with this topic, I just think it would be a huge PR damage for LessWrong to have it here.

As an analogy, I have absolutely no problem with celibate pedophiles meeting in person and discussing their problems. But if you asked me whether you could organize this meetup at my home, I would certainly say no. It's not because I want to take away your right of free speech or whatever. I just don't want to be publicly associated with this cause.

Second, the discussion about whether we want to discuss celibate pedophilia here isn't "taboo". You just didn't ask this question before posting the article. You didn't ask it even in the top comment in this thread; at least not directly. The only sentence ending with question mark is: "Does anyone want to clarify the risk of harm to the site?". Okay, I admit it is related. So, let's break the taboo and ask openly here:

Dear readers of LessWrong, do you want to have celibate pedophilia discussions on LessWrong, and how specifically?

Third, I think the votes on the article and comments already express the opinions of the community.

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