“Banning Said Achmiz (and broader thoughts on moderation)” by habryka

Aug 22, 2025

51:48

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It's been roughly 7 years since the LessWrong user-base voted on whether it's time to close down shop and become an archive, or to move towards the LessWrong 2.0 platform, with me as head-admin. For roughly equally long have I spent around one hundred hours almost every year trying to get Said Achmiz to understand and learn how to become a good LessWrong commenter by my lights.[1] Today I am declaring defeat on that goal and am giving him a 3 year ban.

What follows is an explanation of the models of moderation that convinced me this is a good idea, the history of past moderation actions we've taken for Said, and some amount of case law that I derive from these two. If you just want to know the moderation precedent, you can jump straight there.

I think few people have done as much to shape the culture [...]

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Outline:

(02:45) The sneer attractor

(04:51) The LinkedIn attractor

(07:19) How this relates to LessWrong

(11:38) Weaponized obtuseness and asymmetric effort ratios

(21:38) Concentration of force and the trouble with anonymous voting

(24:46) But why ban someone, cant people just ignore Said?

(30:25) Ok, but shouldnt there be some kind of justice process?

(36:28) So what options do I have if I disagree with this decision?

(38:28) An overview over past moderation discussion surrounding Said