I agree that I’d like to see even more cooperation within EA. However, I’d like to push back against this comment a little bit, because there are a couple of details here that I think could actually be negative if taken literally.
“The EA Hotel seems to be one of the most discussed projects born out of the EA community in the last months”
Being discussed a lot, or even receiving a lot of positive online comments, is not a good reason to receive funding. I think it’s really important to keep a high bar for charity evaluation and not play favourites just because the charity was started by ‘one of our own’ or has attracted a lot of attention on the EA Forum. If groups are more likely to get funding after getting a lot of online engagement, it could encourage them to write clickbaity articles rather than do more important work.
“I think I’ve read most of the related discussions on the forum and haven‘t seen a case made why the project isn‘t as promising as it might sound after reading the EA Hotel funding pledges. I understand that your time is limited, but for the sake of cooperation within EA I’m saddened that there seems to have been no communication between you guys at all.”
I have seen a lot of people within the EA community be quite generous with their time critiquing the EA Hotel, including long email exchanges which are summarised in the link above. I place a very high value on grantmakers’ time. If they don’t think an applicant is likely to improve to the point where they might plausibly receive a grant, I don’t think grantmakers should spend time giving feedback.
I know that sounds really mean, but I can’t stand the idea of people spending hours writing feedback for a charity they know they’re not going to fund, when there’s so much other work they could be doing.
Being discussed a lot, or even receiving a lot of positive online comments, is not a good reason to receive funding. I think it’s really important to keep a high bar for charity evaluation and not play favourites just because the charity was started by ‘one of our own’ or has attracted a lot of attention on the EA Forum.
I don’t think the previous comment can charitably be read as saying that ‘it’s been much discussed, so it should be funded’. I read them as saying that they “feel frustrated by lack of feedback”, because the project is “one of the most discussed” and they’ve “read most of the related discussions on the forum and haven‘t seen a case made why the project isn‘t as promising as it might sound” and yet it still “prominently struggles for funding.”
I agree that I’d like to see even more cooperation within EA. However, I’d like to push back against this comment a little bit, because there are a couple of details here that I think could actually be negative if taken literally.
“The EA Hotel seems to be one of the most discussed projects born out of the EA community in the last months”
Being discussed a lot, or even receiving a lot of positive online comments, is not a good reason to receive funding. I think it’s really important to keep a high bar for charity evaluation and not play favourites just because the charity was started by ‘one of our own’ or has attracted a lot of attention on the EA Forum. If groups are more likely to get funding after getting a lot of online engagement, it could encourage them to write clickbaity articles rather than do more important work.
“I think I’ve read most of the related discussions on the forum and haven‘t seen a case made why the project isn‘t as promising as it might sound after reading the EA Hotel funding pledges. I understand that your time is limited, but for the sake of cooperation within EA I’m saddened that there seems to have been no communication between you guys at all.”
I have seen a lot of people within the EA community be quite generous with their time critiquing the EA Hotel, including long email exchanges which are summarised in the link above. I place a very high value on grantmakers’ time. If they don’t think an applicant is likely to improve to the point where they might plausibly receive a grant, I don’t think grantmakers should spend time giving feedback.
I know that sounds really mean, but I can’t stand the idea of people spending hours writing feedback for a charity they know they’re not going to fund, when there’s so much other work they could be doing.
I don’t think the previous comment can charitably be read as saying that ‘it’s been much discussed, so it should be funded’. I read them as saying that they “feel frustrated by lack of feedback”, because the project is “one of the most discussed” and they’ve “read most of the related discussions on the forum and haven‘t seen a case made why the project isn‘t as promising as it might sound” and yet it still “prominently struggles for funding.”