I have a (somewhat unfair) vibe of this as the famous people deposit their work into the forum and leave for higher pursuits
I do think there’s a big difference in how much various high-status people engage on the forum. And I think that the people who do engage feel like they’re more “part of” the community… or at least that small part of it that actually uses the forum! It also gives them more opportunity to say stupid things and get downvoted, very humanising!
(An example that comes to mind is Oliver Habryka, who comments a lot on posts, not just his own, so feels quite present.)
But I definitely don’t think there should be a norm that you should engage on the forum. It seems pretty unlikely to be the best use of your time, and can be a big time sink. Maybe you’ve got some actually useful object level work to do! Then posting and leaving us probably the right choice. So I don’t think that’s a good solution, although I think it could be somewhat effective if people did it.
Yeah I agree that for many people, not engaging is the right choice, I don’t intend to suggest that all or even most technical debates or philosophical discussions happen here, just that keeping a sprinkling of them here helps give a more accurate impression of how these things evolve.
I do think there’s a big difference in how much various high-status people engage on the forum. And I think that the people who do engage feel like they’re more “part of” the community… or at least that small part of it that actually uses the forum! It also gives them more opportunity to say stupid things and get downvoted, very humanising!
(An example that comes to mind is Oliver Habryka, who comments a lot on posts, not just his own, so feels quite present.)
But I definitely don’t think there should be a norm that you should engage on the forum. It seems pretty unlikely to be the best use of your time, and can be a big time sink. Maybe you’ve got some actually useful object level work to do! Then posting and leaving us probably the right choice. So I don’t think that’s a good solution, although I think it could be somewhat effective if people did it.
Yeah I agree that for many people, not engaging is the right choice, I don’t intend to suggest that all or even most technical debates or philosophical discussions happen here, just that keeping a sprinkling of them here helps give a more accurate impression of how these things evolve.