Ask HN: How Compare Online Communities?
Curious if anyone has any suggestions for systematically measuring how reasoned, fact-based, knowledgeable, biased, on-topic, etc — one online community is relative to other online communities?
There is a word in sanskrit satya, which means truth-seeking. Satya is one of a handful of ideas forming the basis of a practice called the eight limbs of yoga. The idea is that thought precedes action, and if you don't clear your mind, you undermine your yoga practice. Put another way, you don't receive the full benefits of yoga if you're distracted by competing desires. I think truth-seeking is an incredibly worthwhile goal.
Having said that, I have never heard of a perfectly informed person let alone a community. No choice is neutral, therefore everything a person says or thinks or does is opinionated.
However, I must admit my own ignorance. If you continue to seek such a community, I would be interested in hearing the outcome of such a search. Maybe I could learn something too :) Thank you for sharing!
And yes, of course, this is more about being more or less of X — not being 100% of X.
To be honest, core reason I presented question is that it’s not uncommon for any community to see itself as the best community; HN of course being no exception. Problem is, without an objective measure, how can any community become less wrong?
While seeking to be less wrong is a worthwhile goal, it is but one of many things to pursue. The question arises about why does a community need to be less wrong. What happens if you don't course correct? Sometimes, it's better just to let things happen.
Scientific community generally speaking compared to non-scientific communities would not only be an example of this, but also shows the benefits of such practices, especially over extended durations.
https://tech.fb.com/artificial-intelligence/2022/07/how-ai-c...