Open Thread Feb 29 - March 6, 2016

Elo

If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.

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If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.

Notes for future OT posters:

1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.

2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threadspage before posting.)

3. Open Threads should be posted in Discussion, and not Main.

4. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.

You're unable to see the difference between "banish heretics" and "banish cult recruiters"? Or, more to the point, between "banish heretics" and "forbid cult recruitment"?

(I am not sure how good a metaphor either of these is for neoreactionaries on Less Wrong, but the two are quite different things and it's in no way ambiguous which Viliam is arguing for.)

So let's take the Cult of Cryonics. What do you think "banish cult recruiters" might look like? I would bet that it would look like prohibiting discussions of cryonics and be indistinguishable from "banish the heretics" in practice.

And of course NRx isn't a cult, Yvain's offhand comment notwithstanding.

1buybuydandavis10y

First, calling them a cult when they exhibited none of the means of indoctrination and control associated with cults seems inaccurate and a boo light. Those who successfully banned discussion of NR ideas from LW seem more accurately called cult members, using the usual cult tactic of driving out ideas that challenged their cherished beliefs, thereby refusing to engage with critiques of their ideas. On the flip side, the supposed NR "cult" was doing the rather uncultish thing of choosing to stay in the midst of ideas predominantly hostile to their own, until forced to take their discussion elsewhere. As for "recruitment", what do you mean? How is that different from wanting to discuss and share ideas that they found valuable? To me, it sounds like Viliam disliked the ideas, disliked that others exposed to them found them attractive, and approved of having what power could be mustered to prevent those ideas from spreading at LW. [...] It's two ways to spin what he was proposing - shutting down ideas he disapproved of. A common sarcastic definitions of a cult is "religion I disapprove of".