> There are thousands of people with middlebrow blogs out there, why the focus on slatestarcodex? It's got to be the distance between the quality/tone of his w

> There are thousands of people with middlebrow blogs out there, why the focus on slatestarcodex? It's got to be the distance between the quality/tone of his writing and the quality/tone of his fansplainers on HN, no? See also: * Rick and Morty episodes vs. Rick and Morty subreddit posts * David Foster Wallace's oeuvre vs. Those who emulate his writing on forums * Dream Theater vs. the Dream Theater fan who just asked me if I've ever heard of Dream Theater These particular objects of admiration seem to generate fandoms which are a) ready and willing to educate anyone on the relevant subject matter, and c) sure seem like they only know the relevant subject matter-- if at all-- through that particular niche object of admiration. Personally, I find that a) people don't like having other people's arbitrary hobby horses explained to them, and b) people really don't like it when the figure out that the explainer seems to be living vicariously through a second-hand explanation of the thing they admire. I mean, I just can't imagine someone saying, "Hey, that's a fun/witty blog. I should deanonymize the author and ruin their practice." However, I can see that happening after the Nth encounter with a slatestarcodex fan. Not to say it's fair. And personally, I enjoy both Dream Theater and conversations with their fans. But a few sentences in, those fans probably can tell that I've listened to way too much music and they quickly get off their hobby horse. Others who aren't as musically inclined probably get an unsolicited earful of an unhealthy obsession.