The forum naming conversation feels like an example of something that’s been coming up a lot that I don’t have a crisp way of talking about, which is the difference between “this is an EA thing” as a speech act and “this is an EA thing” as a description. I’m supportive of orgs and projects not branding themselves EA because they don’t want to or want to scope out a different part of the world of possible projects or don’t identify as EA. But I’m also worried about being descriptively deceptive (even unintentionally), by saying “oh, this website isn’t really an EA thing, it’s just a forum where a lot of EAs hang out.” That feels like it confuses and potentially deceives in a way I don’t like. Don’t know how to thread this needle, seems hard!
The forum naming conversation feels like an example of something that’s been coming up a lot that I don’t have a crisp way of talking about, which is the difference between “this is an EA thing” as a speech act and “this is an EA thing” as a description. I’m supportive of orgs and projects not branding themselves EA because they don’t want to or want to scope out a different part of the world of possible projects or don’t identify as EA. But I’m also worried about being descriptively deceptive (even unintentionally), by saying “oh, this website isn’t really an EA thing, it’s just a forum where a lot of EAs hang out.” That feels like it confuses and potentially deceives in a way I don’t like. Don’t know how to thread this needle, seems hard!