One of the problems with EA is that people are extremely nice and donāt want to tell you that either
They donāt like your project and/āor donāt think itās very good
They donāt think your project is as good as alternatives and they have limited resources.
They donāt care much about this cause area.
There are more but itās very common to hear this kind of positive feedback but no commitment/āfurther engagement. When people wish you well/āluck, this is them being polite/ānice and saying they arenāt interested but that sounds too mean. Furthermore, they really do wish you luck as they probably wish most people luck on their projects.
In your case, I expect it to be a mixture of the 3 perhaps, depending on the case. People are being nice to you and donāt want to crush your hopes. Furthermore, if in the EA community, few people care, as a top priority, about climate change.
This also commonly happens in the for profit world. Investors/āVCs rarely say they are a no. They will usually give some excuse like it not being the right time or they arenāt in this space and such. This allows them to keep the door open to invest in the future if you defy their expectations or just not be seen as a dick/āsomeone you donāt want to interact with to preserve their reputation or if they change their mind because someone told them the investment is good.
A good motto to go by when raising funds is āfuck yes or noā meaning if it isnāt an enthusiastic yes with clear things they want further for funding or a promise of funding, itās a no.
It isnāt aimed at EA community, as I havenāt encountered such reactions, but in a broader context, I would prefer if people would just be honest and tell that they appreciate, but it isnāt their priority right now, and not promise support and then ghost. So far EA folks are the most honest and upfront ones :)
Although it would be nice if people were more into climate action, as environment is a cornerstone of all other human activities.
One of the problems with EA is that people are extremely nice and donāt want to tell you that either
They donāt like your project and/āor donāt think itās very good
They donāt think your project is as good as alternatives and they have limited resources.
They donāt care much about this cause area.
There are more but itās very common to hear this kind of positive feedback but no commitment/āfurther engagement. When people wish you well/āluck, this is them being polite/ānice and saying they arenāt interested but that sounds too mean. Furthermore, they really do wish you luck as they probably wish most people luck on their projects.
In your case, I expect it to be a mixture of the 3 perhaps, depending on the case. People are being nice to you and donāt want to crush your hopes. Furthermore, if in the EA community, few people care, as a top priority, about climate change.
This also commonly happens in the for profit world. Investors/āVCs rarely say they are a no. They will usually give some excuse like it not being the right time or they arenāt in this space and such. This allows them to keep the door open to invest in the future if you defy their expectations or just not be seen as a dick/āsomeone you donāt want to interact with to preserve their reputation or if they change their mind because someone told them the investment is good.
A good motto to go by when raising funds is āfuck yes or noā meaning if it isnāt an enthusiastic yes with clear things they want further for funding or a promise of funding, itās a no.
I experienced people being very honest with me but it might be because I mostly interact with AI safety people
It isnāt aimed at EA community, as I havenāt encountered such reactions, but in a broader context, I would prefer if people would just be honest and tell that they appreciate, but it isnāt their priority right now, and not promise support and then ghost. So far EA folks are the most honest and upfront ones :)
Although it would be nice if people were more into climate action, as environment is a cornerstone of all other human activities.