I am very happy to see this post.

As a practical matter, agents can only burden themselves so much in so many ways. Even if an agent is committed to impartial utility maximization, increasing his/her burden will decrease productivity and/or risk value drift via burnout.

If the burden of restricting one's diet to veganism burdens an agent more than the utility derived from this restriction (which can be calculated and paid for in offsets), it does not make sense for an agent to do so. Of course, it may be difficult to calculate the value of this dietary restriction, which may include avoidance of negative utility, by contributing to demand for animal products and thus harming animals, but also the preemption of positive utility from contributing to demand for vegan products and sending a broader social signal as to the value of animal rights and the normality of veganism. Thus, the value of being vegan vs. omnivore has quite a bit to it to calculate the total value attributable to it.

However, if you are not a significant public figure and you would be significantly burdened by switching to veganism (due to your cultural or family situation, health issues, or you just really enjoy consuming animal products), it may very well make more sense to spend your altruistic sacrifice points on increasing utility in other ways, such as by donating to charities that effectively address farmed animal welfare.

This information being shared is probably a good thing on net, but the reveal of such a high acceptance rate is a real spit in the face to previous rejectees.

While I understand the intent behind publicly praising well-known contributors, I think we should consider the potential downsides. Heaping more praise on individuals who are already widely celebrated could be net negative, especially when there are many others who contribute valuable work but go largely ignored on the forum. This risks reinforcing a narrow focus on a few voices at the expense of elevating diverse perspectives and recognizing unsung contributors. Perhaps it would be more productive to highlight those who often don’t receive recognition but still make significant contributions.

Also, I believe you meant “compliments,” not “complements.”

A common perception in EA is that Open Philanthropy and other elite EA organizations focus on doing the most good, which can come across as detached from broader community engagement. However, I believe there is a strong case, even from an impartial welfarist perspective, that empowering the broader EA community to explore and test ideas could be extremely high-EV. The EA community is vast, and there is a wealth of ideas beyond what the elite circle generates. Yet, the "do-ocracy" model, where people are encouraged to pursue their own projects, often disempowers those who don’t have the time or resources to do so.

Additionally, the dismissal of "EA should" statements, where suggestions are ignored because the originator isn’t positioned to implement them, further limits the potential for innovation. While tools like the EA Funds exist, they focus narrowly on pre-determined areas, and rejections are often made without feedback, leaving many high-EV ideas unexplored and unsupported.

Given that much of EA’s potential for innovation lies within the broader community, what steps can Open Phil take to better engage with and support exploratory, high-EV ideas from the wider EA base? How can Open Phil foster an environment where more ideas from the community can be tested, rather than maintaining a top-down approach that may be missing valuable opportunities?

Thanks for the comment, Ben! You’re right that a perfectly applied scout mindset involves critically analyzing information and updating based on evidence, rather than deferring. In theory, someone applying the scout mindset would update the correct amount based on the fact that they have an interest in a certain outcome, without automatically yielding to critiques. However, in practice, I think there’s a tendency within EA to celebrate the relinquishing of positions, almost as a marker of intellectual humility or objectivity.

This can create a culture where people may feel pressure to seem "scouty" by yielding more often than is optimal, even when the epistemological ecosystem might actually need them to advocate for the value of their intervention or program. In such cases, the desire to appear unbiased or intellectually humble could lead people to abandon or underplay their projects prematurely, which could be a loss for the broader system.

It’s a subtle difference, but I think it’s worth considering how the scout mindset is applied in practice, especially when there’s a risk of overcorrecting in the direction of giving up rather than pushing for the potential value of one’s work.