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I think that the other side of criticism is community support. So who are you grateful is doing what they are doing?

Perhaps pick people who you think don't get complimented very much or don't get complimented as much as they get criticised.

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I am grateful to the leaders of big EA orgs. 

They get criticised a lot, but perhaps they don't get thanked enough. I guess the hours are long, it's a lot of responsibility and certainly it involves loads of tasks I personally hate.

Thank you for your work.

I'm really grateful for those that work to better the world in the highest expected value ways that they can that are not receiving and have not received esteem, compensation, prestige and/or other personal benefits.

A lot of people do work in legible ways and/or on paths that others have paved and have an easier, happier journey. These people are great and, especially in EA, deserve the happiness for their hard work and industry in doing good.

But there are many who are seeking new paths, taking risks, to try to better the world. From an egoistic perspective, this is probably folly; a serious chance, if not high probability, of financial and personal difficulty. But if we did not have such people, some of our most promising paths would not have been found.

Here's to those who give it their all but are not supported or celebrated. May you win for us all and, in the meantime, somehow find the strength to keep fighting.

I'm really appreciative of Manifold. Since they've come on the scene only about a yearish ago, they've completely transformed the community of forecasting. Go Austin + the rest of the team!

 

(also I think this is a great idea — I completely endorse providing community support. thanks for posting this!)

I'm grateful to the people who start new orgs to fill the gaps they see, knowing that's a path with a high chance of not working. I like how dynamic EA is (and think we could stand to be even more dynamic!) and this is largely because new projects keep coming on the scene.

Weird and contrarian early adopter types, especially if their years (or decades) of obscure (and unprestigious) work is rewarded by a relentless assault of noobs making rookie mistakes and not bothering to check if there's a literature already.

Nathan Young for engaging with people who are critical of EA in a constructive way.

As someone with ADHD and autism, I'm grateful for the organisers of EA Globals. The ones I've been to had nap rooms, people respect you for wearing headphones and the schedule and practical information are clear. Also, at EA Global London we had a neurodiversity meetup!  I hope to see this at every EAG from now on :) Yes, there are difficulties with EA Globals, even for neurotypical people as @Amber Dawn mentioned in her post.  But I appreciate that the organisers (and fellow attendees!) create an environment where it's possible and acceptable to wind down, get rest and stay away from negative stimuli.

 

Edit to add: This was initially going to be a post rather than a comment, but to spare time I thought this question was a great place to share my quick thoughts. 

I want to add to my comment that I don't mean EAGs don't have anything to improve upon, but just that in my personal experience EAGs are so much better than many other non-EA environments. While in an EA environment you might have extra stressors related to getting the most out of your time, you can decide not to and people and the environment are just a lot more accepting if you are overwhelmed. My appreciation for the organisers for creating this environment holds even if they didn't think about neurodiverse people when ex. deciding to add nap rooms.

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