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Culture War Roundup for the week of December 25, 2023

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Yes, if you found your space on Free Speech you'll attract seven zillion witches. And if you ban witches on sight you won't.

But that post doesn't say that those are the only possible options, probably because slatestarcodex.com was a clear alternative where discourse across the political spectrum occurred all the time.

So yes, the fact that TheMotte became "alt-right" was entirely predictable, but no, it was not inevitable.

Discourse across the political spectrum given that the really contentious issues are not broached. Freedom to discuss only matters as far as you apply it to topics that make your blood boil and no, SSC did not have a solution for that.

But that post doesn't give that a the only possible options, probably because slatestarcodex.com was a clear alternative where discourse across the political spectrum occurred all the time.

And was then nuked from orbit, or at least Manhattan. Q.E.D.

QED what? Make sure your mods are anonymous?

If you're implying that you've demonstrated "it's impossible to have a healthy community with diverse viewpoints", then I disagree.

Making the mods anonymous doesn't work. SSC stayed together because the community -- both leftists and rightists, but especially leftists -- trusted Scott as moderator. So leftists flouncing out because there were too many witches (as has happened over on Data Secrets Lox) didn't happen. An anonymous moderator couldn't really achieve that.

Agree to disagree I guess. I don’t think there is a lack of trust in our mods.

I trust that they honestly wish the foundation would actually happen. I trust that they’re doing their best to apply the rules impartially.

I just disagree with them that the rules, as they are actually enforced, will achieve the foundation.

It didn’t get nuked, the NYT doxxed him and he got scared and pulled the plug. There’s an alternate universe where it’s still going in the original.

Perhaps the type of people that would want to host a healthy community with diverse viewpoints, keeping away crazy radicals, are also those for whom the prospect of getting named and shamed by the NYT is a serious deterrent?