I observe that people seem to evaluate a very large number of things in terms of status. It’s actually ridiculously hard to write something that contains absolutely no status message about anybody whatsoever. If you don’t believe me, try writing something that’s both interesting or useful, but does not contain a single line or other element that can be interpreted in terms of status.
Ironically, I think it’s the people who are worst at conveying status messages who are most often accused of playing status games. Not to say that you’re accusing anyone! I can see that you are not! :)
The people who are very good at making status messages simply receive status. Part of what popular people do is to be smooth enough that most people don’t think about the fact that they’re even presenting status messages. To be unskilled with status messages is awkward, which attracts attention to the fact that status messages are present.
So, from what I have observed, it seems like the people who are best at actually playing status games are rarely called out for it (Even though their skill level suggests that they may, in fact, practice that on purpose!), while the people who are terrible at it can’t seem to avoid making status messages all together, nor manage to consistently craft smooth status messages that don’t stick out like a sore thumb.
It makes things a bit confusing for someone who doesn’t do status things the stereotypical way. Do you “stop” playing status games so people do not complain? How do you get around the major limitations on expression you’d impose onto yourself by being unable to say anything that anyone might possibly interpret as a status message? Do you just swallow the irony, dive in, and intentionally practice playing status games smoothly so that nobody complains to you about status games anymore?
Perhaps you agree about Gleb’s intentions, or have no opinion on this, but I just wanted to say that if Gleb appears to be playing status games, he probably isn’t very good at actually playing status games. This supports Gleb’s claim that he hates status games more than any claim that he is playing them. Though I do acknowledge that all you’re saying here is that he comes across as playing status games. That is not an accusation. It’s feedback. I agree with you.
What I’m curious about is what do people think Gleb should do? Should he learn to play status games smoothly and in a way that will lead people to believe an accurate view of reality? Should Gleb try to limit himself to expressions that no one will interpret as status messages? Something else?
I agree that Gleb appears to be bad at status games. I don’t have a view about whether he is deliberately engaging in them (I’d kind of expect him to be better if he conceived of himself as engaging in them, but I observe that he has generated status among some group of supporters of InIn).
I think he should take a break from EA promotion and try to learn how to do better in this domain, in a way that doesn’t take up large slices of time and attention from the EA community. It seems possible that he could come to be a productive member of the community, although I’m a bit pessimistic on the basis of the amount of feedback he has received without apparently fixing the important issues. ‘Learning to do better’ means not necessarily getting very good at status games, but getting good enough to recognise what might be construed as engaging in them, and avoiding that. I also think it’s crucial that he moves from a position of trying to avoid saying strictly-false things to trying to avoid saying things that could lead people to take away false impressions.
I observe that people seem to evaluate a very large number of things in terms of status. It’s actually ridiculously hard to write something that contains absolutely no status message about anybody whatsoever. If you don’t believe me, try writing something that’s both interesting or useful, but does not contain a single line or other element that can be interpreted in terms of status.
Ironically, I think it’s the people who are worst at conveying status messages who are most often accused of playing status games. Not to say that you’re accusing anyone! I can see that you are not! :)
The people who are very good at making status messages simply receive status. Part of what popular people do is to be smooth enough that most people don’t think about the fact that they’re even presenting status messages. To be unskilled with status messages is awkward, which attracts attention to the fact that status messages are present.
So, from what I have observed, it seems like the people who are best at actually playing status games are rarely called out for it (Even though their skill level suggests that they may, in fact, practice that on purpose!), while the people who are terrible at it can’t seem to avoid making status messages all together, nor manage to consistently craft smooth status messages that don’t stick out like a sore thumb.
It makes things a bit confusing for someone who doesn’t do status things the stereotypical way. Do you “stop” playing status games so people do not complain? How do you get around the major limitations on expression you’d impose onto yourself by being unable to say anything that anyone might possibly interpret as a status message? Do you just swallow the irony, dive in, and intentionally practice playing status games smoothly so that nobody complains to you about status games anymore?
Perhaps you agree about Gleb’s intentions, or have no opinion on this, but I just wanted to say that if Gleb appears to be playing status games, he probably isn’t very good at actually playing status games. This supports Gleb’s claim that he hates status games more than any claim that he is playing them. Though I do acknowledge that all you’re saying here is that he comes across as playing status games. That is not an accusation. It’s feedback. I agree with you.
What I’m curious about is what do people think Gleb should do? Should he learn to play status games smoothly and in a way that will lead people to believe an accurate view of reality? Should Gleb try to limit himself to expressions that no one will interpret as status messages? Something else?
I agree that Gleb appears to be bad at status games. I don’t have a view about whether he is deliberately engaging in them (I’d kind of expect him to be better if he conceived of himself as engaging in them, but I observe that he has generated status among some group of supporters of InIn).
I think he should take a break from EA promotion and try to learn how to do better in this domain, in a way that doesn’t take up large slices of time and attention from the EA community. It seems possible that he could come to be a productive member of the community, although I’m a bit pessimistic on the basis of the amount of feedback he has received without apparently fixing the important issues. ‘Learning to do better’ means not necessarily getting very good at status games, but getting good enough to recognise what might be construed as engaging in them, and avoiding that. I also think it’s crucial that he moves from a position of trying to avoid saying strictly-false things to trying to avoid saying things that could lead people to take away false impressions.
(Views my own, not my employer’s.)