I think the EA forum writing tends to do okay on 1, well on 2, and okay-to-bad on 3.
Obviously being better at all of them simultaneously is the best outcome, but sometimes there’s a tradeoff. Personally, I think clarity and precision are more important than accessibility. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to make our writing more accessible (I endorse Emerson Spartz’s list of tips), but I think it is just more important to be clear and precise, and we should be clear about that and happy that we’re doing well at those things. And therefore I don’t think the writing style here is bad, although it could be improved.
(Or, in the maxim I got taught: “When looking at your writing ask: ’Is it clear? Is it true? Is it necessary?”)
I feel like, if we write here to communicate, accessibility is pretty important, maybe more important than the other two (or at least, not clearly less important than them). Why do you think otherwise?
Sometimes it’s more important to convey something with high fidelity to few people than it’d be to convey an oversimplified version to many.
That’s the reason why we bother having a forum at all—despite the average American reading at an eighth grade level—rather than standing on street corners shouting at the passers-by.
All of the following are virtues in writing:
Clarity
Precision
Accessibility
I think the EA forum writing tends to do okay on 1, well on 2, and okay-to-bad on 3.
Obviously being better at all of them simultaneously is the best outcome, but sometimes there’s a tradeoff. Personally, I think clarity and precision are more important than accessibility. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to make our writing more accessible (I endorse Emerson Spartz’s list of tips), but I think it is just more important to be clear and precise, and we should be clear about that and happy that we’re doing well at those things. And therefore I don’t think the writing style here is bad, although it could be improved.
(Or, in the maxim I got taught: “When looking at your writing ask: ’Is it clear? Is it true? Is it necessary?”)
I feel like, if we write here to communicate, accessibility is pretty important, maybe more important than the other two (or at least, not clearly less important than them). Why do you think otherwise?
Sometimes it’s more important to convey something with high fidelity to few people than it’d be to convey an oversimplified version to many.
That’s the reason why we bother having a forum at all—despite the average American reading at an eighth grade level—rather than standing on street corners shouting at the passers-by.