Hello, Dreamworld

[oligopsony]

In 2010 I joined an improbably infamous epistemology forum founded by an apocalypse cult. The community built around this fled from about five or six platforms, and I am joining Dreamwidth so that I can stay in touch with the fork that has the least number of Nazis in it, if the current platform stops existing or functioning (or even if it doesn't, depending on how much I like this platform and who joins it.)

Historically I have posted about politics (more than I would like on reflection), meaningless RPG stuff (less than I would like on reflection), and whatever other, smarter people near me have been talking about (about as much as I would like on reflection.) If I do post here in any meaningful way, it is likely that I will continue to do so.

From the little experience I have of this platform, it seems much more Web 1.5 than where we were previously - not coincidentally, since it is a Livejournal clone. This seems encouraging to me - if I were designing a social network from scratch I would probably make it text-only (as paradoxical as that seems, given what prompted the likelihood of a Tumblr exodus.) But we shall see!

Comments

[deusvulture]

I was about to react with confusion to the "least number of nazis" remark... and then I remembered the existence of twitter.

[oligopsony]

& r/ssc, and so on

(Though to be fair Twitter seems terrible even among people I would otherwise completely approve of - Facebook has the most evil management, Tumblr has the least competent management which often shook out to least evil in practice, Twitter seems to have the worst effect on its users. What gives? Maybe just the sheet limits on how much context you can give anyhing?)

[deusvulture]

Also, yay niche-interestposting!

[paradigm_adrift]

As a relatively orthodox rationalist, I feel like I should be offended, but your summary of the community and its history is legitimately really funny.

[oligopsony]

I was about to post that I'm orthodox enough that I aaaaalmost ended up working at Leverage Research, but I guess that inspires its own jokes, har har har.

To be less jokey I think that it would be difficult for a community to produce the precise kind of good things it did/does without it also producing things that were bad in many of the ways it did/does. This is ultimately because it's not a whole world, just an internet subculture - I can find weird people and discuss weird things with them. (Although maybe that itself is a very web 1.5, digital dualist way of thinking about it.)

[mindstalk]

> infamous epistemology

LessWrong?

> apocalypse cult

Singularitarianism?

> five or six platforms

Really? Wow

[oligopsony]

"Yes," "I wouldn't quite phrase it that way, even if I meant cultishness 100% seriously, because any belief (including true ones) can be what a cult organizes around, so cults aren't isms as much as social scenes organized around guru-like authority, I think" and "that's probably an exaggeration for effect."

[thirqual]

Yay for less politics and more RPG-posting! I've been meaning to do the same and never quite got to it.

[oligopsony]

Yeah, we'll see if I can keep to it. :p

[(Anonymous)]

hi! i enjoy your web presence and i am happy to see you here.