Signaling with Small Orange Diamonds

post by jefftk (jkaufman) · 2024-11-07T20:20:08.026Z · LW · GW · 1 comments

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There are so many important efforts to make the world better that are significantly limited by funding, and it would be great if we could have a culture where significant and thoughtful giving was normal and common. It's hard to build that sort of norm if people keep their giving private, however, and so I've long been an advocate of being public about your giving. I list my donations (jointly with Julia) and have taken Giving What We Can's 10% Pledge (also jointly with Julia).

In July GWWC suggested people put the "small orange diamond" symbol (🔸) in their usernames on social media to show that they've pledged. Here's how the EA Forum describes this on the profile editing page:

This digital symbol reminds me of the physical Symbolic Beads of Raikoth. In an older Scott Alexander post he talked about how his fictional society attempted to redirect humanity's natural competitive status-signaling in a more productive direction than yachts. The symbol also has something in common with wedding rings, showing that you have taken on a serious commitment. To the extent that it helps promote a norm of substantial and effective giving, that seems pretty good!

And yet despite being on the board of GWWC USA I haven't put it in my username, even on the EA Forum where it would be most relevant. I'm not sure if this is the right call, but some things pushing me in this direction:

• Usernames with symbols in them feel like they're signaling something I don't want to signal, just by the inclusion of emoji. Something like "I'm a very online person who keeps up with fast-moving discourse".

• Relatedly, it feels like this is not what the username field is for. If I'm interacting with someone on some topic unrelated to my advocacy it feels intrusive and uncooperative to be bringing it into the conversation.

• While effective giving is one thing I would like to see more of, this is really a large category. I could see including symbols showing that I'm an advocate for allowing people to build housing, giving kids more independence, applying your career effectively, increasing immigration, etc. But I don't want to be "Jeff Kaufman 🔸🏗👣🛝💡🌎".

For now I've decided I will go ahead and add this to my name on the EA Forum where it's most relevant and I most understand how it will be perceived, but I won't add it to my username elsewhere. If you'd like to try to convince me to do otherwise, please go ahead!

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