Working title: Collaborative Discussion Spaces and “Epistemic Jam Sessions” for Community Building Claims/Ideas?
Tl;dr: I created an example discussion space on Kialo for claims/ideas about EA community building, with the idea being that community builders could collaborate via such structured discussions. Does this seem like something that could be valuable? Is it worth making this shortform into a full post?
I’m a big fan of structured discussions, and while reading this post early last month I wondered: would it be helpful if there were some kind of virtual space for sharing claims and ideas—and arguments for/against those claims and ideas—about community organizing?
Building on this, I also wondered if it might be good to designate some 1–3 day period each month as a focal/Schelling point for community organizer participation, perhaps also with some non-binding/optional goals laid out in advance (e.g., “we want to get a better sense of how to improve outreach/success at lower-prestige universities,” “we want to hear about your experiences/advice regarding outreach to STEM groups”). Perhaps you could call these “epistemic jam sessions” (I’m totally open to accepting better name ideas). Regardless, these discussions could be open to contributions at any time.
Ultimately, I’d love to hear your thoughts on:
Whether anything else like this already exists;
Whether something like this seems valuable;
Any recommendations for alternative characteristics/designs;
Working title: Collaborative Discussion Spaces and “Epistemic Jam Sessions” for Community Building Claims/Ideas?
Tl;dr: I created an example discussion space on Kialo for claims/ideas about EA community building, with the idea being that community builders could collaborate via such structured discussions. Does this seem like something that could be valuable? Is it worth making this shortform into a full post?
I’m a big fan of structured discussions, and while reading this post early last month I wondered: would it be helpful if there were some kind of virtual space for sharing claims and ideas—and arguments for/against those claims and ideas—about community organizing?
For example,
“Intro groups/fellowships at universities should not have “required readings””
“University organizers should prioritize creating fellowships that require applications over open-to-anyone reading groups and other ad-hoc events.”
I went ahead and created a toy example of what such a structured discussion could look like on Kialo, with some example claims and arguments for/against those claims.
Building on this, I also wondered if it might be good to designate some 1–3 day period each month as a focal/Schelling point for community organizer participation, perhaps also with some non-binding/optional goals laid out in advance (e.g., “we want to get a better sense of how to improve outreach/success at lower-prestige universities,” “we want to hear about your experiences/advice regarding outreach to STEM groups”). Perhaps you could call these “epistemic jam sessions” (I’m totally open to accepting better name ideas). Regardless, these discussions could be open to contributions at any time.
Ultimately, I’d love to hear your thoughts on:
Whether anything else like this already exists;
Whether something like this seems valuable;
Any recommendations for alternative characteristics/designs;
Whether I should make this into a full post.