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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2609 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 17, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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I often come across events in a shallow way (like Musk's Grok AI) that I don't have the time/knowledge to write up, but I'm kind of hoping someone else will comment on.

What do people think about a 'Culture War Request Thread' where people without the time (or wordsmithing skills) can suggest current hot topics that others may be interested in investigating/developing?

Has this been considered or tried before? Would it drain energy from the main thread? Is the main thread fine in the sense of 'if no one has made a top level post, its probably not that interesting' sense?

I’d be fine with such requests in this thread.

Though I’ll echo Cjet—any sufficiently unusual topic will get attention if you feel like writing about it.

Yeah, I'm leaning towards posting if I end up doing it, I will post in this thread so as not to pollute the main thread.

What do people think about a 'Culture War Request Thread' where people without the time (or wordsmithing skills) can suggest current hot topics that others may be interested in investigating/developing?

Isn't that also sort-of the Small-Questions Sunday thread?

Somewhat? The Sunday thread isn't culture war focused, though.

The intro says

Culture war topics are accepted

so that suggests to me that simple requests for topics would fit here. I don't think it would drain energy from the main thread and, if it worked, would actually drive more discussion there, as long as the small scale questions didn't consistently spin off into a length discussion of the topic here in this thread before a big post was made.

as long as the small scale questions didn't consistently spin off into a length discussion of the topic here in this thread before a big post was made.

That's what I'm worried about. A request thread would mean to draw attention to developments, but not stunt discussion in the way the Bare Link Depository did. I think maybe you would be able to post items, but not discuss them here. If you wanted to discuss them, someone would need to main thread them.

It might be appropriate (or just tempting) to have some level of discussion, at least on the meta-level, regarding whether other people agree or disagree with the request or potential difficulties they anticipate arising from it or something.

Like, literally right now, you have in this post made a suggestion and we are having a meta level discussion about it, though it's about site content rather than a specific CW topic. As long as the discussions remained brief and meta level that would be fine, but when it comes to CW topics that's always a slippery slope.

Yeah, I feel the same way. Sometimes I just want to post a neat little fact or news story and I don't see the point in adding 20 lines of cultural war BS about why This is A Big Deal and People Need to Care About It.
LLMs can help add some random BS but they often post passive aggressive "wrongthink is bad, mkay" lectures when they're not happy.

I wish there was a forum for actual neutral news. Like what reddit used to be 10 years ago.

The standards aren't super high for posting yourself. Just write a bit about why you find it interesting and a question, more or less. I'd prefer a short but new post to another wall of text.

'if no one has made a top level post, its probably not that interesting' sense?

That is at least one good reason.

Another one I like is that it seems best when the people capable of producing the interesting discussions are the ones that get to choose where it goes and topics get covered.

Finally, you are asking for something and offering nothing. There is technically nothing stopping you from having this arrangement with another poster on themotte. 'I think of topics, you go out and do the research, and write something interesting'. Of course once you put it on the level of a one on one exchange it becomes obvious that the writer/researcher would ask "whats in this for me again?"

Finally, you are asking for something and offering nothing.

I can imagine some people who know a lot about something don't write about it because they don't think there will be any interest. Might be useful for both parties.

If its not a standard topic I can almost guarantee there is interest. Standard topics include: HBD, Immigration, Trans, Race issues, Trump, Jewish people, Ukraine, Gamergate, etc

Finally, you are asking for something and offering nothing.

Yes, but there is a 'lead', a subject. There is a lower grade radar from members that can find interesting subjects that have not yet drawn the attention of higher grade posters. Is there a market for this, or not?

You seem to be simultaneously treating culture war topics as abundant (saying there are too many things for you to research), and scarce (it is a useful service to find a new culture war topic).

I'd say that you abundance take is correct. There are often too many culture war topics for everyone to follow.

In some ways finding new culture war topics is an anti-service and a form of culture warring. You'll see this via two common responses that popped up in the bare links repository:

"Oh great, now people are arguing over topic Y as well?" - the anti service

"This is ridiculous is nothing sacred to Group X, why do they have to ruin this thing too?" - the culture warring

You seem to be simultaneously treating culture war topics as abundant (saying there are too many things for you to research), and scarce (it is a useful service to find a new culture war topic).

Yes, basically. There are culture war topics we nudge against, but don't have enough time or interest to investigate. The chaff, the scum. There could be a diamond in the rough that others can see.

I agree that my suggestion is very close to a (rebranded) BLR. There was a reason why it was shut down. I was more proposing leads for others to investigate rather than drive by culture warring. Maybe if only top level posts were allowed? You couldn't low effort culture war that way because you couldn't comment on a bare link?

TheDag ran a thread like that ten months ago. Not sure how successful you might consider it, but I've been slowly working my way through some of the material I considered then, and appreciated curious_straight_ca's response.

I'm not sure how happy I am with the current state of main thread top-levels. The old Bare Links Repository subthreads did have its problems -- even the best-written stuff was still easy to read as boo-outgroup or yay-ingroup -- but the current longpost meta risks going self-referentially navel-gazey or reaching so far to connect disparate events that it feels a little Pepe Silvia.

That sounds like a rebranded Bare Links Repository, which The Motte tried out when it was still on Reddit. I liked that feature, but the mods shut it down after its trial period and haven’t seemed inclined to bring it back.

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