Hi! I really appreciate you writing this, it offers a level of thoughtful introspection that is otherwise difficult to inspect by people like me (community builder).
Can you imagine a group that you would feel motivated to spend time in, that would be EA affiliated? Iād love to know what aspects would be appealing and any constraints it would have to satisfy.
There seems to be a tension, where EA is exciting as a sort of intellectual project, where you read things and share thoughts and learn new stuff, but the energy to sustain that sort of involvement is difficult to maintain.
A social scene where everyone hangs out is easier to be a part of, but thenāwhats the point? Plus, lots of people already have a roster full of friends and families and donāt need another social group.
I think if anyone is attracted to the intellectual project, but there arenāt any formats that make it easy for them to engage, this might be solvable with thought event design. If the intellectual project is too taxing in an otherwise busy life (work, family, other interests etc), Iām not sure thereās a way to meaningfully re-engage the old-hand EAs.
If the intellectual project is too taxing in an otherwise busy life (work, family, other interests etc), Iām not sure thereās a way to meaningfully re-engage the old-hand EAs.
This seems plausible to me. EA should be a community organized around doing the intellectual project, not a random social club.
(On the other hand, I am doing an EA activity, namely giving away money effectively. But thereās not much to talk about with that!)
So I think a very relevant question is just: is it actually useful or desirable to āretainā people like me? It depends on what we want the EA community to look like.
A social scene where everyone hangs out is easier to be a part of, but thenāwhats the point? Plus, lots of people already have a roster full of friends and families and donāt need another social group.
I strongly agree with this point. I enjoy hanging out with EA friends, but if our objective shifts from ādoing good betterā to having fun, then Iād probably be less involved with the community.
Hi! I really appreciate you writing this, it offers a level of thoughtful introspection that is otherwise difficult to inspect by people like me (community builder).
Can you imagine a group that you would feel motivated to spend time in, that would be EA affiliated? Iād love to know what aspects would be appealing and any constraints it would have to satisfy.
There seems to be a tension, where EA is exciting as a sort of intellectual project, where you read things and share thoughts and learn new stuff, but the energy to sustain that sort of involvement is difficult to maintain.
A social scene where everyone hangs out is easier to be a part of, but thenāwhats the point? Plus, lots of people already have a roster full of friends and families and donāt need another social group.
I think if anyone is attracted to the intellectual project, but there arenāt any formats that make it easy for them to engage, this might be solvable with thought event design. If the intellectual project is too taxing in an otherwise busy life (work, family, other interests etc), Iām not sure thereās a way to meaningfully re-engage the old-hand EAs.
This seems plausible to me. EA should be a community organized around doing the intellectual project, not a random social club.
(On the other hand, I am doing an EA activity, namely giving away money effectively. But thereās not much to talk about with that!)
So I think a very relevant question is just: is it actually useful or desirable to āretainā people like me? It depends on what we want the EA community to look like.
I strongly agree with this point. I enjoy hanging out with EA friends, but if our objective shifts from ādoing good betterā to having fun, then Iād probably be less involved with the community.